It's a Wonderful Life' at JAG
by mkim57
Summary: This story is very AU, just my take of the JAG universe with a little Frank Capra in the the mix. smile Conclusion posted Feb 21st!
1. Chapter 1

'It's a Wonderful Life' at JAG

Chapter 1

Disclaimers: I don't own any of these characters. I don't own any product or label mentioned for the purposes for telling this story. Any similarities to situations or persons living or dead are purely coincidental. I don't own the rights to the movie or story, 'It's a  
Wonderful Life.'

Spoilers: Any JAG episode is fair game however; Season 3 will be the pivotal season with many of the circumstances changed there after. We will visit other places and seasons, ending with the nearer past. I don't mean to be cryptic; I just don't want to give my story away.

A/N This story is very much AU with a bit of reality thrown in, just to keep it interesting. I've followed the premise that many of the old movies did, when they spoke of heaven and angels, I hope I've not offended anyone, it was not my intention. Brace yourselves folks, were going a little higher than the Starship Enterprise this time.

A/N: This is just for fun and is not meant to take anything away from the movie 'It's a Wonderful Life." I know it's an American institution and I mean no disrespect. It's just a fantasy Christmas story about our DD.

A/N: Many thanks to Karen for her beta read.

2230

December 24, 2004

Falls Church, Virginia and surrounding areas.

In the special stillness that seems to cover the world on Christmas Eve, snow was falling in Northern Virginia. The wind would gust from time to time, whipping around the old historical buildings of the city of Falls Church. It coated the ground at Fairfax Chapel and the Oakwood Cemetery that was just beyond, and then around Mount Hope. The winds and snow traveled past Wrens Tavern, out into Fairfax proper and into the District of Columbia. It blew the snow around the Capital building and the Pentagon, where the strength of a great nation was seated. The snow fell silently on Arlington Cemetery, with its rolling hills marked with the lonely graves of its fallen Soldiers, Sailors and Marines. In all of the surrounding areas, with their many suburbs, most of their inhabitants were reveling in this picture perfect Christmas Eve. The youngest of these were awaiting a certain 'midnight visitor,' all dressed in red.

Amid all the quiet joy of the season, echoes of voices could be heard, pleading and humbly praying, mingling with sound of the winds, as they blew the snow down the streets and seemingly back up into the heavens. The prayers were for a man whose soul felt no comfort or joy tonight. This troubled man stood on a bridge overlooking the Potomac River; his hands were clasped together, with despair evident on his face. What would he do? He had finally reached the end of his rope, he could not imagine the shame of what he would face, his reputation and that of his family, would be destroyed with the morning news. Hell, it was probably already all over ZNN. What would his father think of him now? Maybe it would be better if he had never been born.

In the heavens above this troubled man, the thoughts and prayers of those who held him dear reached the place where prayers are heard and some… are answered.

_**Office of the High Command….**_

A sharp knock at the door pulled the Supreme Commander's attention away from the cares of the entire world.

"Enter," he spoke sternly.

XO Gabriel walked swiftly into a room full of light, whose walls had the color and brilliancy of the sparkling seas.

The XO came to attention and was given the order to stand at ease. The Supreme Commander seemed to return his attention to other matters as he questioned the XO.

"What is it Commander Gabriel?"

"Sir, we have a problem, one that I believe requires your immediate attention, sir."

"The Rabb situation?"

"Yes sir, would you like me to handle it personally, sir?"

"No, not this time, send for Lieutenant Clarence."

"Clarence, sir?" The XO stopped short.

"But he hasn't…sir, he's hasn't been able to get his wings since he arrived…and that was decades ago."

"That is true, but Lieutenant Clarence has never given up…He won't allow this man to give up either. Clarence is the perfect one to do battle for the soul of Harmon Rabb Jr. Send for him."

Lieutenant Clarence was summoned and reported immediately. He stood at attention before the Supreme Commander, wearing the aviator's uniform of his time, a worn double breasted olive drab jacket with trousers to match, which were tucked into his knee high brown leather boots. He looked at his Supreme Commander from beneath a leather aviator's cap, which sat on his head slightly askew.

"At ease, Lieutenant, and be seated." The Supreme Commander instructed. "I have a project for you Lieutenant Clarence."

"Will I be able to get my wings this time, sir?' The over eager young man's plain features were lit from within, he knew this was his opportunity and he would not make a mistake this time. Those wings were as good as his, he was sure of it. He was so excited that he hadn't realized that he had interrupted his superior officer.

XO Gabriel started to reprimand the young man, but the Supreme Commander raised a hand to stop him.

Lieutenant Clarence then realized his mistake, "I'm sorry, sir."

The Supreme Commander looked at the young man. "Much of that will depend on you, Lieutenant, but your focus must be Commander Rabb. He is your assignment, he is very troubled and at exactly 2310 Eastern Standard Time, he will try to throw away something that can never be replaced."

Lieutenant Clarence spoke aloud, again, without thinking, "God's greatest gift…his life"

The Supreme Commander smiled as he listened to the Lieutenant, he had chosen the right man. Lieutenant Clarence understood what was at stake and that was the most important thing. He was still undisciplined, but he had the faith of a child.

"That's right, but you, Clarence, will not only stop him, but convince him that his life is and has always been, of the utmost importance in the lives of so many people."

"Yes sir, I will, sir." He looked at his Supreme Commander with an expression of sincerity and admiration. He stood and both he and XO Gabriel came to attention and were dismissed.

Lieutenant Clarence was to be briefed by XO Gabriel before beginning this assignment. As they left, they noticed a man waiting to see the Supreme Commander.

"I have someone waiting, send him in as you leave, will you XO?" The Supreme Commander asked as they left.

'Yes, sir." Commander Gabriel looked at the man seated just outside the door. "He'll see you now Lieutenant Rabb"

The elder Lieutenant Rabb stood and came to attention

"Carry on," the XO acknowledged him and dismissed him.

"Yes, sir," Lieutenant Rabb turned toward the open doorway and entered it.

As Lieutenant Rabb entered the Supreme Commanders office, the XO and Lieutenant Clarence heard the Supreme Commander say...

"Have a seat Rabb. I know why you're here," he chuckled and continued. "This has gotten to be a habit over the years, hasn't it?"

The door closed and they were unable to hear anymore of the conversation.

XO Gabriel and Lieutenant Clarence made their way down a hallway to a vast and open area. They appeared to be standing amidst the clouds. The Lieutenant looked up and the heavens seemed to open. The break in the clouds allowed them to observe a little boy, climbing into the cockpit of an F4 on the deck of an aircraft carrier.

"Hey...That's the guy who was waiting outside the Supreme Commanders office."

"That's right Clarence; I'll get to that, just listen and learn. We don't have a lot of time."

The XO was beginning to understand that protocol wasn't going to be something he had time to focus on either. The young apprentice seemed to have had difficulty with minor protocols since he arrived in 1918. He had come to them as a wide eyed aviator's apprentice, with his head already in the clouds. Now, it seemed, he still kept that part of his earthly personality.

"Yes sir." The lieutenant was embarrassed at his outburst. He never seemed to remember to keep his mouth shut.

As the XO explained to Lieutenant Clarence just who Harmon Rabb Junior was, they observed many of the pivotal moments of his early childhood. The tiger cruises he went on with his father, the fishing trips and their closeness. He ended with the visit from two men in uniform, informing his mother of his fathers MIA status.

XO Gabriel was silent for a moment. As though reliving these moments were extremely sad to him as well.

Lieutenant Clarence could not keep from questioning, even though he knew there was more to come. "Did his father ever come home?"

Again, silence reined…

"Let's move on." The XO chose not to answer at this point, the Lieutenant was too easily side tracked.

The next scene in the life of Harmon Rabb Jr. was that of him as a young man of sixteen, following a man by the name of Stryker, through the jungles of Vietnam. XO Gabriel explained that he was in search of his missing father. They observed Harmon Rabb Jr. looking back and smiling, for a moment, at a young girl who was following him, along with her mother. She returned his smile and then looked back again at her mother.

Automatic weapons fire rang out. They had been ambushed by Cambodian border guards, and he turned to see the girl and her mother fall to the ground. Lieutenant Clarence heard the young man screaming the name "Gym" as he was being drug back into the jungle by Stryker. He had been wounded badly and it was not long before Stryker was carrying him.

Stryker called in a marker from an old friend, Chuck DePalma, who was now a reporter for ZNN. They both knew if they didn't get this kid out of the country he would be dead. It wasn't easy, but they were able to get him out of Vietnam and into Thailand. He was taken to a hospital in Bangkok and before the young man had even had regained consciousness; his mother and new stepfather had arrived and had taken him back home.

"His mother remarried?" Lieutenant Clarence frowned.

"His father had been declared dead."

"Was he?"

XO Gabriel was once again, silent.

"He didn't find his father, then?" Lieutenant Clarence asked. After all that had happened to this young man, he hadn't found him. The poor kid.

"No, not then." XO Gabriel answered.

Lieutenant Clarence watched as Harmon Rabb Jr. grew into a young man, he watched as he entered the Naval Academy. He watched as the loner, became a good friend and even an advocate for many of his friends. He allowed himself to form strong bonds with some of his friends, namely Sturgis Turner and Jack Keeter.

The XO observed, aloud, that Jack had taught him to laugh, sometimes at himself, while his friend Sturgis kept his feet on the ground and his six out of trouble. There was a beautiful young woman, who always seemed to be hovering around him, but never really seemed to be very close to him.

Lieutenant Clarence was going to ask a question about her, but the next scene caught his attention and as he looked on, it took all the discipline he possessed, not to laugh out loud.

The Lieutenant and the XO were observing a very naked Harmon Rabb Jr. pounding on the door of his dorm in Bancroft Hall, while a laughing Jack Keeter held the doorknob. Lieutenant Clarence heard the sound of someone's heels echoing in the hall, fast approaching in the hallway. Sturgis finally wrestled Jack away from the door and allowed the young man in, just in time to keep the Academy's superintendent, Vice Admiral Smith, from observing the young plebe, in all his glory.

Unbeknownst to Lieutenant Clarence, the XO was struggling to remain stern in his expression as well.

They looked on as the young man graduated from the Academy. The next scene was that of a very confident Harmon Rabb Jr. receiving his wings and saluting the Admiral who had pinned them on.

"He's following in his fathers footsteps." Lieutenant Clarence thought that he would love to have lived long enough on earth to receive his own wings.

"Something like that." The XO answered.

The next scene was the complete opposite of the one before, it was horrific and terrible to hear and behold. A jet was landing, and at the last minute, the command "Eject! Eject!" could be heard. The F-14 exploded into a ball of fire. Lieutenant Clarence knew that the young aviator was on that jet and that another young man had lost his life.

The scene changed quickly to that of Harmon Rabb Jr., standing at attention in front of a board of inquiry. He listened, stone faced, as he was told he had been cleared of any negligence on his part, that the crash had been an unavoidable accident. He didn't flinch when he was informed he would not fly again, but Clarence saw the weight of it, coupled with his RIO's death, on the young man's soul.

They observed then, as Harmon Rabb Jr. began to put his life back together. They followed him as he changed his designator and went to law school.

"He doesn't give up, I like that." Lieutenant Clarence was grinning from ear to ear.

"It's a good point to remember, perhaps, one to remind him of." The XO was still wondering what the Supreme Commander had in mind. He couldn't imagine this simple and naïve young man being the 'savior' of a man like Harmon Rabb Jr.

"Yes, sir," his expression turned serious once again.

They both looked again into to the life of Commander Rabb. Lieutenant Clarence watched as he showed his ID and entered the section of a naval base that was JAG Headquarters at Falls Church in Virginia. He noticed that some of the young man's confidence had returned. It appeared that in no time, he had once again become the self-assured young man who had graduated from flight school and received his wings.

Lieutenant Clarence wished so much that he could earn his wings. It was different here, he knew, but also the same. He knew pride was no virtue for an angel, but he had been here so long, he wanted to be, as so many others before him. He wanted to be an angel of the first order, sitting at the right hand of the Supreme Commander.

The younger Lieutenant Rabb stood on the steps, in front of JAG Headquarters. The Judge Advocate General, Admiral Brovo stood beside him.

"Great job, Rabb. You're going to be an asset to this office, after all. You really pulled all our asses out of the fire with that stunt."

"Well sir, I have to admit I wasn't thinking about that, I was just trying to save my own a…six, sir."

"Whatever the reason Lieutenant, you're up for a DFC." He slapped him on the back and said. "We've got ourselves a full fledged hero, right here at JAG."

"Thank you, sir." The younger Lieutenant Rabb smiled, slightly uncomfortable at the title of 'hero.'

Lieutenant Clarence knew that he didn't feel like anybody's hero, which only made him admire him more. Clarence understood that the young man was so glad to have gotten to know his father's best friend, the CAG aboard the Seahawk, Commander Tom Boone.

They both observed another man, Lieutenant Commander Teddy Lindsey, as he watched the exchange from behind them, just out of their line of sight. His expression concealed nothing of the loathing he felt, for the younger Lieutenant Rabb.

"Who is he?" Lieutenant Clarence asked.

"He is one of Lieutenant Rabb's superiors. He is a minor player in this story now, but remember his face, it will become more important later."

"Did he go back to flying?"

"Not to an active squadron, his flight status is limited, because of his night blindness."

"That was the reason for the accident that killed his friend." The story was coming together for him now.

"That's right"

"It looks like things are starting to work out for him now, at least he didn't lose his wings, and he's still in the Navy, like his father was." He gazed happily upon the scene.

XO Gabriel's expression turned grim when he said, "There is more to come."

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

'It's a Wonderful Life' at JAG

Chapter 2

Disclaimers: As previously stated.

Spoilers: Any episode from Season One, Two or Three. In particular, the episodes, "The Prisoner.' 'We the People,' 'Full Engagement,' 'Washington Holiday,' 'Death Watch' and 'To Russia With Love-Gypsy Eyes'. The movie "It's a Wonderful Life," will also be loosely referred to.

The details of the episodes and the movie will not happen in the same order and some may not have the same result as the episode or the movie. (Got that?) LOL!

A/N: Thanks to Karen for her beta reading in a busy time.

A/N: I have the episode 'Full Engagement' happening in October instead of February. It would have been freezing cold and there would have been at least, a few inches of snow on the ground, when they landed that Stearman.

A/N: Many things will take place, or be reviewed in a very short period of time in this story. The time span between 2230 and 2310(Eastern Standard earth time, grin ) will contain a great deal of detail. Since we really don't know the nature of angels, how they measure time, or for that matter, how many can dance on the point of a needle, then I have the license to pack as much as I want to into 40 minutes. (Smile)

A/N: Keep in mind that in the first half of Harm and Mac's story, each scene will have a bit of narration prior to it. The angel, XO Gabriel, in my story, will narrate for a time, as the angel Joseph narrated in 'It's a Wonderful Life.' The narrations and some scene changes will be framed by a line of asterisks.

Rating K

Christmas Eve, 2004

_**In the heavens above Northern Virginia…**_

XO Gabriel continued to show Lieutenant Clarence, the life of Harmon Rabb Jr. as it unfolded in his first years at JAG. The former aviators apprentice marveled at the amount of women in uniform, who were stationed at all levels, in all the services. In 1918, the only women who served in the military were nurses. The women who passed through the now, Lieutenant Commander's life, flew airplanes, commanded ships, and were partnered with him as attorneys, Lieutenant Clarence couldn't believe it. Women didn't even vote, in 1918.

Lieutenant Clarence decided that aviation had come a long way, as well. There were many changes from the 'Jenny' he had dreamed of flying, so long ago. He continued to be amazed at the women who worked at JAG with the Commander. One of them, Lieutenant Meg Austin, was someone he would have liked for a partner himself. She was beautiful and competent. But Commander Krennick, though she was very beautiful, he decided, was the type of woman that his mother warned him to stay away from, under any circumstances.

New people came into Lieutenant Commander Rabb's life, people Lieutenant Clarence was instructed to remember, Namely, Admiral AJ Chegwidden, who replaced Admiral Brovo, as Judge Advocate General. The young apprentice was relieved that his subject seemed to strike a rapport with his new superior, almost immediately. It was about time that something worked out the way it was supposed to for him. But what could have happened that would make the Commander so full of despair that he would want to throw everything away?

Lieutenant Commander Rabb's ordeal, in his first year at JAG, when he was taken prisoner while on assignment in Hong Kong, revealed a lot about him. It became clear that the one thing that motivated his subject the most was his father. He was the greatest source of his pride and also of his deepest pain.

Up until tonight, Lieutenant Clarence had not been allowed to see the earth as it was, since his arrival years ago, only angels who had earned their wings could do that. Tonight, he was also able to discern the thoughts and motivations of his subjects. Though this newfound power helped move things along more quickly, it also had the Lieutenant asking far too many questions for XO Gabriel's taste.

"Lieutenant Clarence, if you intend to be of any assistance to your subject, you should wait until we finish, to ask a question."

The Lieutenant's questions ceased and they continued to look in on Lieutenant Commander Rabb's life.

1345

May 1996

D and S piers

Norfolk Naval Base

Norfolk, Virginia

Lieutenant Commander Harmon Rabb Jr. approached NCIS Special Agent Turkey on pier 6. His partner Lieutenant Meg Austin accompanied him. The usual inter service jibes were exchanged between the Special Agent and Commander Rabb. Both Meg and Harm were having a very good time with the Special Agents name, until the body bag of the murdered victim was unzipped. It was Lieutenant Diane Schonke.

Harm turned and walked away, his immediate grief and repulsion, sickening him. After he had taken a few steps, he looked back again, praying that he had been mistaken. It was to no avail, it was true, it was Diane and she was dead.

"Do you know victim, Rabb?"

Harm nodded his head but turned away.

"Cover her." Meg spoke sharply, and reached forward to pull the cover back over the victims face and zipped the bag.

Harm closed his eyes, trying to compose himself. In his minds eye, he could still see Diane's beautiful face and the gaping and bloody hole that lay just below it.

Now, he would never know. They had been friends all the way through the Academy but had never committed to being more. He knew his feelings went deeper, but thought they had time; they could have been so much more.

Nearly before Lieutenant Clarence had time to react to what he had seen, another scene from Commander Rabb's life played out before him.

Commander Rabb stood at attention before the President of the United States and received his Distinguished Flying Cross in the Rose Garden of the White House. He was in the company of Admiral AJ Chegwidden and his new 'responsibity' Lieutenant Bud Roberts.

As they walked the path that led them from the Rose Garden to the Admirals limousine, a woman who was standing near it turned toward them. Admiral Chegwidden introduced Major Sarah Mackenzie to Commander Harmon Rabb Jr.

He was stunned to see someone, who could have been Diane, standing before him in a Marine Corps uniform. After they awkwardly shook hands and introduced themselves as 'Harm' and 'Mac,' they began their assignment. An assignment that forged their friendship.

Mac had initially thought Harmon Rabb Jr. was just another fighter jock, full of himself and not to be trusted. By the end of their assignment, recovering a stolen Declaration of Independence, he had put his career and life on the line for her and her Uncle Matt. No one but her Uncle Matt had ever gone the extra mile for her before, until that day. As a result, from that day, it was difficult not to admire him. Mac still kept up her guard though, time would tell.

What began for Harm as a curiosity became a habit. He studied Mac whenever possible to see how much like Diane she really was. What puzzled Harm was that the differences between them didn't disappoint him, they fascinated him. His friend Jack would never let him live it down if he knew how much time he spent on this. No one knew, and he didn't feel the need to share. He and Mac were friends and co-workers. Besides, he thought, this fascination he had would pass. There was still a lot he wanted to do with his life, there was no room for a serious relationship, certainly not with someone he worked with.

2245

October, 21 1097

Somewhere in the Blue Ridge Mountains…

After their afternoon trip in Harm's Stearman became a run for their lives. Harm and Mac sat near the fire Harm had built just a few minutes before. Mac had calmed down considerably, since they had decided to stop for the night. Harm had tried to reach out to her, but she would not allow it.

Mac was ashamed of her break down, and knew that if she allowed herself to lean on him at all she could never face him again. She'd had to kill in her own self-defense, and now it appeared that it was just catching up with her.

"I'm sorry about earlier, Harm. I don't know what came over me." Though they'd only known each other a few of months, his respect meant so much to her.

'Its okay Mac, I shouldn't have left you alone."

"If you hadn't, we might both be dead."

"So…can we agree that I wont feel guilty about leaving you, if you wont feel guilty about getting emotional a few minutes ago?"

"Okay, but I want to say," she wiped the now drying tears from her face, "that I feel bad about giving you a hard time about your plane. I didn't realize what it meant to you."

Harm was quiet for a moment. "I haven't told anyone, really." He told her earlier that day, about his father, his grandfather and how instrumental working on 'Sarah' had been in his recovery after his ramp strike.

"Do you ever think about going back? To flying I mean." She looked at him now, directly.

"Everyday." He answered honestly, he loved flying the Stearman, but he believed he was born to fly a Tomcat. It was as though the jet fuel were in his blood, and being at sea, flying off the deck of a carrier, was his natural state.

He didn't say more, this was as open as he had ever allowed himself to be with a woman. This conversation was making him feel exposed and it made him uncomfortable, though he knew he could trust Mac.

Mac, for her part, pushed away the dread of his ever leaving JAG. He was too good at what he did now. He was the best partner she had ever had, he treated her as an equal, and she didn't want to lose that. There was more to it than that though; she just didn't know how to explain it, even to herself. Lost in her serious thoughts, Mac looked up at the stars for a moment.

Harm felt a small amount of tension between them, so to fill the silence he decided to lighten the moment. He handed his cigar to Mac, just to see if she would actually smoke it.

Mac took it without flinching. As she took a deep drought from it, Harm raised his eyebrows. He was impressed… she was tough alright.

"Do you smoke, Mac?" Harm grinned at her.

"No, but I thought that this cigar might taste so nasty, it might help me forget how hungry I am." She gave him a mischievous side long glance

Harm could not keep from laughing and the tension between them eased. "We'd better call it a night Mac; I need to get some rest if I'm going to get you back to the plane tomorrow." He stood up and brushed the dirt and leaves from his jeans. "By the way…Have you gained weight?"

Mac gave his leg a swat, before he helped her stand up. "No, you just need more muscle, Stickboy. Maybe you should get a real work out, with a Marine."

In no time they were settled in, well hidden from anyone who might come upon them. They lay facing each other on a bed of soft white pine branches. Her eyelids were heavy as she smiled at him sleepily and began to nod off, she was exhausted. Harm closed his eyes and waited for her breathing to even out.

When he was sure she was asleep, he opened them and watched Mac as she slept. Her face, usually tawny and glowing with health, had a grayish hue. She had dark circles under her eyes. Harm spoke his thoughts in a whisper.

"I'm getting you out of here Mac, I swear it."

He wouldn't allow himself to think anything else. There just weren't any other possibilities. He reached across and rested his hand on her arm and tried to get some rest before the sun came up.

Lieutenant Clarence looked at XO Gabriel anxiously, "Did they get away? Did she live?' In his time, Mac's leg wound might have been fatal.

XO Gabriel nodded toward the next scene, as Harm and Mac flew away in the yellow Stearman, in the nick of time.

The next thing Lieutenant Clarence saw was the Commander attending what looked like a large formal ball. He was in uniform and appeared to be in the company of many important dignitaries and officers.

It was held at the ball room at the Willard Hotel; Commander Rabb was scanning the crowd, very much into his role as Princess Alexandra's bodyguard. Though there were times, he felt more like a paid escort. So far everything was going as planned, Agent Webb had informed him that the threat to the Princess was eliminated, but Harm still had a sense of unease. He continued to scan the crowd, also well aware of the location of the secret service agents posted about the room.

Harm stopped short as Admiral Chegwidden entered the room with a beautiful woman on his arm. Not recognizing her at first, he thought the Admiral had brought a beautiful date to the NATO ball. Then the woman turned toward him and smiled. Harm could not keep from saying her name aloud. "Mac?"

She looked beautiful, nothing like the Marine he was teasing about love and baseball, just this afternoon.

Mac spoke a few words to the Admiral, excusing herself, and then walked toward Harm.

"Hello, sailor, are you ready to begin our little plan." Mac decided that Harm looked much better in his 'dress mess' than he did in his dress whites. The uniform was definitely not underrated; though she would never have told Harm so.

Harm was still so captivated by her that he nearly forgot for a moment. "Yeah, sure." He smiled at her, with his expression revealing nothing of what he felt. "Lead on, Marine.

Bud had, as usual, put his foot squarely in his mouth and ended up on a date with the wrong woman. Being the good friends they were, they had formulated a plan to get Harriet and Bud to dance and hopefully, dancing would lead to some kind of reconciliation.

After a bit of deception for a good cause, Bud and Harriet were dancing together, their respective dates were dancing with each other and Harm was dancing with Mac.

He was finally doing what he had wanted to since he saw her come into the ballroom with the Admiral. He was dancing with the most beautiful woman in the room. Sarah Mackenzie.

She teased him, saying that he only thought of her as his sister, but the look that flashed in his eyes, for a split second, was not one he would have given a sister.

"I don't think of you as a sister, Mac." After seeing this soft and feminine side of her, he doubted that he ever could have 'brotherly' thoughts about her again.

The political intrigues were still in play and an assassin did lay in wait for Princess Alexandra, but Harm proved to be more than an 'escort,' he had saved her life and that of her father, King Josef, of Romania.

Not a bad night's work, and the glimpse at a different side of Mac, was just the icing on the cake.

XO Gabriel explained that Commander Rabb and Major Mackenzie grew closer over the next several months. Without either of them noticing, each assignment seemed to deepen their relationship and strengthen their bond.

When Sarah Mackenzie looked at Harmon Rabb Jr. she saw him as she had the smartest and most popular guys, she had seen in school. They were great at everything and had the eye of every female in the room. She saw herself as the awkward girl, whose clothes didn't quite fit properly and whose hair was badly in need of some type of style. The girl with two left feet who, deep down, couldn't believe someone like him would give her the time of day.

Harmon Rabb saw Sarah Mackenzie as he did one of the smart, street savvy girls he had seen in school. They were comfortable in the own skins and could make him feel like an idiot, with just one look. Inside, Harm was still the lonely boy, who never felt that he fit in. He never understood the attention he drew from women or what to do with it once he got it. As far as Harm was concerned, smooth, he was not, at least not with Mac.

0745

Tuesday

May 19, 1998

SecNav's limo

George Washington Parkway

Admiral Chegwidden knew the reason for this meeting, during the commute to work, as he and the SecNav made their way toward Jag Headquarters.

"I have heard that two of your senior attorneys are in Moscow."

"Yes sir, they have taken leave and are vacationing in Russia."

"It is my understanding it is a great deal more than a vacation. The word is that he believes his father was taken to Russia and he is pursuing nothing more than rumors about American POW's."

"There have been rumors for years…"

The SecNav cut him off. "That is correct. Rumors, AJ, I wont have months and months of diplomacy ruined by a 'loose cannon' like Rabb. I don't know what you were thinking, allowing him to go, without at least notifying me."

The Admiral looked at him directly. "The Commander had over 45 days leave on the books, he took 30 of them, and I don't see the need to inform the Secretary of the Navy every time one of my attorneys goes on leave…sir. And if I may ask, who told you where Commander Rabb was taking his vacation. I wasn't aware he had discussed it with anyone besides myself or Major Mackenzie."

"That is not your concern, what is your concern is contacting Commander Rabb and convincing him that he should choose another vacation destination. Immediately."

The conversation ended abruptly, as they approached the main gate and the limo dropped Admiral Chegwidden off at JAG Headquarters, and as it pulled away, the SecNav's cell phone rang.

"Nelson… Oh, Commander Lindsey, yes, I just finished my meeting with Admiral Chegwidden. Thank you again for the heads up on the situation with Commander Rabb. Your insight in this matter is very much appreciated…..No…. I won't be back into the office today, I'll see you tomorrow."

They ended the call.

Commander Lindsey replaced the handset on the phone in his office, at the Pentagon, with a satisfied smile on his face. He would show Admiral Chegwidden what a good chief of staff could do. He had been transferred out of Headquarters JAG just a few weeks after Chegwidden's arrival. He had been told by the Admiral that it wasn't personal, but Lindsey knew it had been.

He and the Admiral's working relationship had begun deteriorating from the very first week. He had merely been trying to inform the Admiral of the various 'quirks' of the staff members, to make his transition smoother. The Admiral, very diplomatically informed him that he would make his own decisions about his staff. He told him that his input was appreciated, though the Admirals tone and expression revealed the opposite. It left Commander Lindsey feeling more like a gossip, than an officer trying to assist his superior.

He thought the Admiral would, eventually, appoint Rabb as his chief of staff, or worse yet, Major Mackenzie; he was probably already sleeping with her.

There was a right way and wrong way to do things, as far as Commander Lindsey was concerned. It seemed to him, that both Admiral Chegwidden and Commander Rabb never did anything by the book, like everyone else. It was contradictory to good order and military discipline. It seemed that if you were in good with the Admiral, you could get by with anything.

They would all regret treating him this way. Commander Lindsey didn't care how long it took; he would make them all pay for the humiliation of being replaced by officers who were so obviously his inferiors.

_**One week later…..**_

2105

May 26, 1998

Aeroflot flight 769

In the skies over the North Atlantic

The passengers in the plane were settling in for the over night flight. Most of the overhead lights were out inside the plane, the few passengers who were reading, provided just enough light for Mac to see Harm's troubled features. He sat with his head back on the seat, and his eyes closed. The expression on his face broke Mac's heart. Even at rest, the pain he felt was still evident. She would have given anything not to have been the one to tell him, to have to translate the way in which his father had died. The wounded look on his face, the tears in his eyes, and the shaky sound in his voice were still vivid, in her imagination.

They had barely spoken on the trip back to Moscow. He had been polite, but seemed barely aware of anyone around him.

Harm was awake, but he was in no mood for conversation. He knew Mac was trying to be there for him, he was glad she was here, but he still had no words. So he kept his eyes closed, knowing that this would be a long night. He had believed, with all his heart that he would come home with his father. The feeling that he was alive had never left him. He had been directed to a woman who was said to have known his father. When he and Mac spoke with Pitchta, he knew, without a doubt, it was over. Now, it was as though he had a huge hole in his soul. It seemed the force that had driven him since his father became MIA was gone.

At this moment, he wished he were at the airfield in Leesburg, he wanted to take 'Sarah' up and escape it all for awhile. He felt close to his father there. The only other place was on the Seahawk, while he was still with a squadron. He felt his father's loss more keenly now, than he had since he learned he was missing.

Mac prayed she hadn't lost the Harm she knew, the one whose eyes lit with mischief, the one whose attitude could be at once infuriating and endearing. He spoke to her, at times, with a look, but he was closed to her now. She discovered something on this trip, a feeling she had fought, in earnest, for the last 3 months. Finally she had come to a conclusion she would admit to no one, one that was simple, but no less true.

She turned to look at him again, knowing that she might never be able to tell him, but she would love Harmon Rabb Jr. until the day she died.

TBC

A bit of sidetracking history…..

A/N: The airplane referred to as a 'Jenny' is officially a Curtiss JN-4 and JN-4D. One of many types of planes used during WWI.

A/N: A fact about women who served during WWI fascinated me and I just had to share. There were over 30,000 women who volunteered to serve in WWI, many months before the 19th Amendment (A woman's right to vote) was ratified. Armistice was on November 11 1918. The 19th Amendment was ratified and added to the US Constitution August 18, 1920. That was nearly two years after the END of WWI.


	3. Chapter 3

'It's a Wonderful Life' at JAG

Chapter 3

Disclaimers: I don't own any of the JAG characters. I don't own any of the rights to the movie or story, 'It's a Wonderful Life.' Any similarities to situations or persons living or dead are purely coincidental.

Spoilers: The focus this time will be on episodes in Seasons 4 and 5. Specifically, the episodes are; 'Angels 30,' 'Yeah, Baby,' 'Goodbyes,' 'Rules of Engagement,' 'True Callings' and 'The Return'. There will also be a small reference to 'Into the Breech.'

A/N: Keep in mind that things will not happen in the same sequence as they did on JAG or have exactly the same consequences. I'm trying to touch on as much as I can to make the story familiar. Mic, Renee and Jordan are mentioned, but do not have the same level of importance in either of the lives of our DD, as they did in the show.

A/N: Remember too that this is AU, proceed with caution. (Smile)

Rating K+

_**In the heavens above Northern Virginia…**_

XO Gabriel continued with the story of Harmon Rabb Jr. Lieutenant Clarence listened as if his wings depended on it, because they did.

1436

Wednesday

November, 03, 1998

USS Coral Sea

Mac walked with Harm and Commander Rice out onto the flight deck.

The skipper had given Harm permission to go up with the Commander so that they could duplicate his mission. Commander Rice was convinced that he should resign because of the 'voices' he heard that kept him from performing his duty. His failure to engage had nearly gotten him and his RIO killed. Resigning and turning in his wings was no answer, as far as Harm was concerned. There had to be a logical explanation for what happened.

Mac stopped after taking a few steps, as Harm and Commander Rice walked toward the F-14's. She called out to him, teasing, "Be sure you're back before the street lights come on, young man."

He turned back to look at her, "Yes, Mom." He smiled at her, but then turned his attention to the flight deck.

It was amazing, but as Mac looked at him, it was as though she were watching him step into another world, one in which she had no place. She had flown with him in the Stearman and in a MIG while they were in Russia, but this was something different, entirely. Seeing him like this, on a carrier, in a flight suit, walking across the deck like it was something he did every day of his life, made her see a hard reality. This was where he really wanted to be, his night blindness was the only thing that kept him at JAG.

As he climbed into the F-14's cockpit, he turned back to look at Mac for a moment. His face was an open book. Mac felt her heartbeat accelerate, he was perfect, and he looked like a recruiting poster. He had the look of someone happily doing what he was born to do. She knew he felt it too, no words were necessary. She waved and mouthed 'good luck.' He nodded and slipped into his seat, returning his mind completely to the task at hand.

Mac knew she was already investing too much of her heart. She had no reason to think Harm saw her as anything more than a friend. There was no denying it; she was a friend….a friend who was falling hopelessly, helplessly, in love with him.

"Did he return to the squadron….did he marry the girl?" Lieutenant Clarence was still asking questions.

XO Gabriel nodded toward the pictures that continued to move across the opening in the clouds. "Time is growing short Clarence, watch closely."

1235

Tuesday

May 18, 1999

JAG Headquarters

Admiral Chegwidden's office

"Change your designator?" Admiral Chegwidden's brow furrowed when he looked at Harm's formal request.

"Yes…sir." Harm had dreaded this, almost more than any aspect of his separation from JAG. He knew the Admiral had invested a lot in his career here at JAG. Harm believed he saw him as someone who might one day step into the position of Judge Advocate General. There were times Harm believed he would too.

"This is a setback for your career, you know that don't you?"

"Permission to speak freely sir?"

"You may."

"Sir, I joined the Navy to be an aviator, it's what I wanted and now since having the laser ablation on my eyes. I can return to it. I don't see how anyone who has ever been out in the fleet could stand to be chained to a desk for the rest of their career." He meant to soften the blow, but only managed to make things worse.

The Admiral gave him a direct look, and Harm realized that he had just placed his foot squarely in his mouth.

"Sir, I didn't mean…"

"I know what you meant, Commander; I just want you to be sure you understand what you're giving up."

"Sir, I love the law, but I want a chance to return to what I wanted to do in the first place. I want to make a difference…"

"We are making a difference here, Commander, though it may not be as glamorous as flying an F-14."

"I know that, sir. I have the utmost respect for you and what we do here…but," this was not going as he had planned.

"Very well, I'll take it under advisement." The Admiral understood, and he knew Harm well enough to know that this was only going to get worse.

"Sir, I"

"Dismissed."

Harm came to attention and turned and left the room.

1425

Tuesday

May 25, 1999

JAG Headquarters

Harm and Mac stood facing each other in his office, he was leaving JAG, leaving her and Mac could hardly believe it. Everything happened so fast. One moment he was telling her about how well the laser ablation worked on his eyes and the next he was on his way to Oceana, to await his assignment to a squadron. She barely had time to absorb his decision to leave JAG.

She tried to keep the conversation light, but the tears were rolling down her cheeks anyway. He looked as though he didn't know, until that moment, what he meant to her.

When she asked if he was going to say goodbye he had asked, "Why goodbye, and not good luck." She reminded him that he had said the same to her when she had been stupid enough to leave JAG. She emphasized 'stupid' but she didn't think he noticed.

"That was different, you were in love."

"And you're not?" Mac wasn't completely sure who she was asking about now, Jordan, or herself. What puzzled her was that she felt as though she were losing so much more than Jordan.

Harm was her best friend; there was no one she trusted more, she knew he felt the same way about her…. that was why this was so hard.

When he answered, "What does love have to do with anything, anyway…?"

Harm, for his part, hadn't prepared himself for this. Jordan's reaction had been hard to take, but Mac's tears…they were another matter. What did all this mean?

The looks exchanged between them, told them that they were more than friends, but it was as Mac said, they couldn't find the words.

They embraced for a moment and parted. She did finally wish him good luck and left the room.

Harm watched her leave as he put the last of his things in a cardboard box. He felt a pang of regret, but he pushed it away. He was going, that was all there was to it. This was his chance, to get back out into the world. Being out in the fleet, centered him in a way nothing else could, it connected him to his father and his grandfather. He had always felt that flying, and serving his country were part of his heritage. When he lost that, he lost his connection to what made him who he was. He wanted that back.

Mac said she would stay in touch, he hoped she would. He hadn't wanted to lose the relationship he had with Jordan, though it was far from a permanent one. He could weather that.

Leaving today had made thing one thing very clear to him, he never wanted to lose Mac.

1245

Tuesday

October, 5, 1999

USS Patrick Henry

In the Adriatic Sea

Harm stood in the passageway, punching in his mother's phone number. He had some news, news he knew she'd be relieved to hear.

"Mom?"

"Darling, how are you?" She hadn't spoken with him in more than two months.

"Fine, I just wanted to let you know, I'll be going back to JAG, probably next week."

"What?" His mother was secretly delighted, though she hadn't voiced an opinion about it.

"Why the change? What happened?'

"Things are fine here, I'm doing well, but after talking with the CAG, my chances for advancement are pretty slim. He left it up to me, and I chose to go back. I'm lucky that my old slot is still open at JAG."

"Are you going to be okay with this, honey?" It seemed that her peace of mind and his happiness were always at odds.

"I'm fine, Mom" His mother heard the disappointment in his voice, though he seemed to be trying hard to cover it.

"You did do a fine job at JAG, Harm. I'm sure everyone will be glad to have you back."

"Yeah, I suppose so."

"How is Mac, anyway?" Trish was of the opinion that she was 'the' one for Harm.

"Fine, I guess." Trish could hear the smile in his voice.

"Quite the girl isn't she?"

"Yes, I suppose she is." His mother was 'fishing' again.

"The kind who would help you find the answers, son."

"Mac is probably going out with one of the other attorneys at JAG, Mom. We're just friends….. Don't start Mom." He grinned as he said it. Ever since he turned 30, his mother had made it her mission to convince him that he should be married and provide her with grandchildren.

"You may be just friends Harm, but you've told me more about Sarah Mackenzie than you have about any other woman you have ever dated. I feel as though I know her and I've never met her. There has to be a reason for that, son."

"Yeah…okay….. Mom, I really have to go, other people are waiting for the phone. I'll call you when I get back to DC, okay?"

Trish Burnett smiled, knowing she had made her point, and he was evading her question.

"Alright, talk to you then, love you son."

"You too, bye." Harm replaced the handset on the unit on the wall and walked back down the empty passageway, to his quarters.

He thought about e mailing Mac, but in the end, decided not to. She had been friendly when he saw her last week and she seemed genuinely glad to see him, but something was different. She hadn't even told him about her promotion. He had been so glad to see her, but she seemed distant, and Brumby's irritating presence didn't help. Brumby made it clear from the beginning, when he first came to JAG, that he was going after Mac. She hadn't seemed interested then, but now, he wasn't sure.

1625

Friday

October 8, 1999

Office of the Secretary of the Navy

Lieutenant Commander Teddy Lindsey sat in front of the desk of his boss, Secretary Nelson. He had just spoken with the commanding officer aboard the Patrick Henry, it seemed he had spoken with the CAG and he had, in turn, talked with Commander Rabb.

The SecNav had 'suggested,' not ordered, that it be made clear to the Commander what his career options were. The CAG had reportedly been reluctant, Rabb's leadership skills, and his 'cool head' under fire, made him valuable to him. However, his commanding officer convinced him it would be better for Rabb to go back to JAG.

Ignoring a 'suggestion' from the SecNav wasn't a good career move, for anyone.

"Your input was appreciated on this, Commander. I think Commander Rabb will be put to better use at JAG. It would be foolish to waste his talent in a career that will, in the end, be a dead end for him.

"I'm glad to have been of help sir." Teddy Lindsey had been glad when he heard that Commander Rabb had left JAG. He hoped it would open another slot for him, but the Admiral had made it clear, very diplomatically, that he wasn't needed on his staff.

When he heard about Rabb's nomination for yet another DFC, his resentment of him grew. The Navy's golden boy at JAG was proving to be the same in the air. He couldn't stand to hear him praised to the skies. Everything seemed too easy, Rabb only got into the Academy because of his family connections. Rabb never did anything by the book in his life, and all he seemed to get were accolades. He could just cool his heels back at JAG. Lindsey thought that if he wasn't going to realize his dream at JAG, Rabb wasn't going to have his come true either.

Lindsey's convoluted reasoning made him believe that Commander Rabb was the reason he had lost the confidence of Admiral Chegwidden. He intended to make him pay for that. His input, emphasizing nothing but the 'best interests of the Navy'' to the SecNav that Rabb might be an asset to JAG may have looked like a compliment, but it had not been.

He wanted to take from Commander Rabb something that meant everything to him… flying. He couldn't keep him out of any privately owned aircraft, but he would not be flying for the Navy anymore.

1545

Friday

October 15, 1999

JAG Headquarters

Harm was finishing his first week back a JAG and it had been hellacious. He barely had time to get his bearings when the Admiral blindsided him with a high profile case. He expected to be saddled with case reviews and busy work, as Mac was when she returned from her brief hiatus from JAG. No such luck, his first case had him in conflict with everyone in sight, the Admiral, the Secretary of the Navy, Brumby, his client, Lieutenant Nelson and Nelsons CO, Commander Burk. Worse yet, he fought with Mac, the Admiral's newly appointed Chief of Staff about how he was trying the case.

The SecNav's son, Lieutenant Brian Nelson, who was accused of disobeying a direct order, refused one concession after another from his CO and trial counsel. The lieutenant could have returned to duty, without a mark on his record, but his wounded pride and old resentments against his own father, kept him from seeing his own fault in the matter.

Harm stood leaning against the counter in the break room, still deep in thought. Lieutenant Bud Roberts entered the room, with someone who wanted to meet him.

"Commander Rabb, this is Renee Petersen, she's directing a recruiting commercial. She asked to meet you."

Harm pushed off of the counter and stood straight. He offered her his hand. "Ms Petersen."

"Call me Renee." She looked at him admiringly; this was definitely someone she wanted to get to know.

"Harm" She was a beautiful woman, but just a bit over the top for him.

"I'd really like to talk with you, you know, get some perspective on the more exciting side of Navy life. What I've been able to see from this side of things, is…well, pretty boring." She laughed nervously, and just a bit too loudly.

Harm smiled, "That'd be great..."

Renee saw an opening and took a step away from Bud, toward Harm, one step to close for Harm's comfort. "Great, how about dinner? I'm staying at the Willard."

"Uh, well…I'll...uh, get back with you on that." Harm side stepped and backed away from her

Bud couldn't hide his amusement at Harm's hasty retreat; this lady was a barracuda, no doubt about that.

Harm made his way back into the bullpen and looked at Mac's office, with its closed door. Her blinds were closed, but he could see the light from her desk lamp. He wanted to talk to her, see her alone for just a moment, but where to begin? Everything seemed so awkward between them now.

Harm walked over to the copier and looked again at her closed blinds. He walked over to the bookcase, pretending to scan the books nearest her door. He could knock on her door; make up something, about a case…anything. Looking over his shoulder toward the break room, he thought, he sure as hell needed to be somewhere before Renee Petersen came out of the break room. Making the decision to do this later, he started to turn toward his office, when Mac opened her door.

"Hey." Her expression was still unreadable as it had been since he first came back to JAG, a week ago.

"Hey" He answered her, not quite meeting her eyes.

Mac's desk phone rang. She turned to pick it up. "Colonel Mackenzie"

It was Jack Keeter. "Hey, how's my best girl?"

'Hello Jack, how are you?" Mac couldn't keep the smile from her face. He reminded her of better times, times when she and Harm were close.

The look on her face reminded Harm of the Mac he knew, the sweetness he saw now, was what he remembered when he had missed her, all these months. He had always felt that this side of her was something she allowed only a few people to see. Now, he knew that it meant everything to him, that she trusted him enough to allow him a glimpse, of this side of her.

"Is Harm anywhere around? I can't get him in his office." Jack was sounding a bit frustrated.

"Yes, he's right here."

Mac looked at Harm, her eyes still sparkling with humor and delight. "You've got a call in here."

Harm acknowledged her, questioning, trying to keep his expression neutral, he had heard her speaking, at least Jack was someone they had in common. Hopefully something they could talk about without arguing.

"Yes, its Jack Keeter, he's been trying to reach you." As she stood at her desk, the smile began to leave her and she looked unsure whether Harm would come into her office or not. To say things had been tense between them would be an understatement.

Harm walked in, closing her office door behind him.

"I've got him right here Jack."

"Put us on speaker phone, I want you to hear this too."

Mac looked toward the closed door of her office. "I don't think I should, Harriet is listening."

Harriet, who had been watching all this unfold with amusement, was in fact, just outside Mac's door at the copier. She drew in a breath sharply and scurried back to her desk. She didn't realize she was that obvious.

Mac had the phone to her ear, then she pulled it slightly away, "Here, Harm…we can both listen."

Harm stood closer to her, his awareness of her flooding all of his senses, determined to keep them under control, he leaned down, just close enough to hear Jack. "Hey, Harm, are ya sitting down?"

"What?" Harm was close enough to Mac, to take in the scent of her perfume, making concentration nearly impossible. He had missed her so much and though he had buried much of his attraction for her, being this close to her was making that more difficult to hide by the minute.

He looked down into Mac's eyes as he listened to Jack, "Hey, I'm thinking of getting out of Company business and starting a business of my own. Rabb and Keeter aviation…whaddya think?"

"Rabb and Keeter Aviation?" Harm repeated as Mac turned to look at him more fully, completely drawn into his gaze. There were two conversations going on here. The one they were having with Jack and the silent one full of strong attraction, love, and questions neither of them had the words to answer. Mac looked away for a moment brushing the top of her head against his chin, her soft hair brushing against his lips.

He straightened his neck abruptly, trying to get his mind on what Jack was saying. Mac looked up at him, the questions still there, but he couldn't answer. He could only look down at her lips and involuntarily began to lean down, with his lips just inches from hers.

"Rabb, are you still there?" Jacks voice brought reality back for a moment.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm here." Harm turned away, frowning, trying, once again to regain control.

"Do you have any money?

"Money? Yeah, well…a little"

"Great, I'll be coming into DC later next week, we'll talk about it."

"I don't know Jack." He didn't even remember what he was talking about.

"Oh come on man, are you going to be chained to a desk the rest of your career? You're only half alive if you're not flying, and you know it. Tell him Mac; tell him it's the chance of a lifetime."

Mac turned to Harm again. "He….says it's a chance of a …lifetime."

Harm looked down into her face, her beautiful eyes drawing him in closer. They were at work, they were in uniform, and he knew he wasn't going to be able to walk away from her this time. He was losing control and suddenly, it was making him mad as hell. He didn't want to be anchored to a desk or a business, he didn't want to be anchored to anyone or anything but here he was.

He didn't want to return to JAG but, deep down, he knew he had no choice, he didn't want to give in to what he felt for Mac, but he couldn't help himself. He took her by both of her arms, gripping tightly, causing Mac to drop the phone's handset on the floor.

"Now you listen to me, I don't want to go in any business, I don't want to leave the Navy, I don't care how much money I'll make, and I don't want to get married to anyone…EVER."

Mac was so stunned by his sudden reaction that she didn't react at first, but when he said he didn't want to marry anyone, ever, it hurt, making her eyes sting with tears. Why was he so angry with her? She had tried to distance herself, so that whatever he decided to do wouldn't hurt her, but it hadn't worked. Mac still loved him and whatever he said or did meant everything to her.

Tears ran down Mac's cheeks, unchecked, all she could do was shake her head and breathe his name over and over, "Harm…Harm" her eyes, pleading with him to allow himself to love her as much as she loved him.

Harm's anger left him as quickly as it had come, when he immediately saw how much he was hurting her.

"Mac, I'm so…" He pulled her into an embrace. "I'm sorry….I didn't mean to …I just, I don't…" He was reacting and not thinking when he began to kiss her cheeks as he spoke, trying to soothe the hurt he knew he was responsible for. She reached up with one hand to touch his face, her own apology in her eyes, and he stopped and spoke her name. "Mac…"

She had known it and then denied it, then hoped it, and prayed it over and over. He loved her; she could see it in his eyes.

It was, for moment, as though they were the only two people in the world. He kissed her then, passionately, with all the love he had hidden in his heart. She slipped her arms around his neck, accepting it as he drew her tightly to him.

'Oh God,' he thought, 'I'm finally home.' He had lost a lot in his life, but what he was feeling right now just might make it all worth while.

The phone's handset still lay on the floor. Jack's voice could be heard, but barely. "I'll take that as a 'No.'"

A slightly embarrassed Lieutenant Clarence rocked on his heels and looked away. "Wedding bells…huh?"

XO Gabriel cleared his throat. "Uh…yes, they were married."

TBC

A/N: Just a note to remind you all that this is AU. The story line parallels are more loosely held in this story than with Notorious, but they are there.

I'll try and do some clarification.

George Bailey's dream of leaving Bedford Falls

Harm's dream of returning to flying, and leaving Falls Church.

George/Harm's connection to their fathers

George/Harm's mother wanting to get them married, to the 'kind of girl that will help you find the answers' (wink wink)

Mary/Mac's strong love and admiration for George/Harm

George/Harm's obliviousness to it.

Mac/Mary's frustration with Harm/George's evasiveness, when it comes to his feelings for her.

George/Harm's struggle with anything that would make him 'settle down.' Also that overriding feeling of things that he could have accomplished… if only.

I had Harm and the Admiral have the conversation that George and his father had about getting back out to the fleet/ getting out of Bedford Falls. I didn't kill AJ off, I refuse, I want to try and keep this light. 'Notorious' and '24'just about KILLED ME.

Once again, the parallels won't be exact, but I hope you all will see where I'm going. Stay with me, folks, I know where I'm going. No….really. (Smile)


	4. Chapter 4

'It's a Wonderful Life' at JAG

Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own any of these JAG characters. I don't own the rights to the story or movie, 'It's a Wonderful Life.' Any similarities to situations or person living or dead are purely coincidental. I don't own any product or label mentioned for the purposes of telling this story.

Spoilers: The movie 'It's a Wonderful Life.' The episodes, 'Adrift' 'Boomerang' and 'Critical Condition,' and others, will be touched upon.

A/N: This is where the story will be more 'It's a Wonderful Life' and less JAG seasons 5 through 10. You will recognize some details of things that occurred on JAG but I promise you, they won't be in the same order and some won't even have the same consequences.

A/N: There are some things that are show canon that you will not see at all, since this is AU, I reserve the right not to have to deal with them if I don't want to. (Smile)

A/N: Thank you to Karen for her beta read.

Rating K

0645

Saturday

February 5, 2000

Harm's Apartment

North of Union Station

It was a cold and icy morning in Washington DC. An artic front dipped unusually low into the Eastern seaboard, resulting in a snowstorm that blew into the District early Friday morning, paralyzing traffic and closing airports. The ice mixed with snow could be heard blowing against the windows of Harm's apartment. The sound, though barely audible, woke Mac as she lay on her side. Harm lay beside her, holding her as he slept. His breathing was deep and restful, his arms heavy with sleep.

Mac turned onto her stomach and Harm automatically tightened his arms as she did, "Hmmac...whereyagoin?

"I'm not going anywhere." She turned more fully toward him and rested her head on her hand.

Harm opened his eyes slightly. "Hey…. what time is it?"

"O647"

"Hmmm…Too early…c'mere. I want at least another hour."

She allowed him to pull her into his arms and rested her head on his shoulder. She was wide awake now, but thought she might indulge Harm, just this once.

"Okay, but I wanted to tell you…you don't look any different."

Harm was already dropping off to sleep when it occurred to him what she said. "Hmm? I don't look any different?" His words were still slightly slurred as he came up from the fog of sleep.

"I just thought, you might, now that you're an old married man."

Harm heard the laughter in her voice. "Old married man?" He opened one eye.

"Yeah, I just realized that this is the first morning that I'm waking up a married woman." She nudged him and teased. "I'm an old married woman."

Harm was awake now. He pulled her more tightly into his arms and turned her onto her back. In a completely possessive move, he pulled her closer still and he corrected her assertion with a sly grin.

"No, Mrs. Rabb, 'we' are newlyweds. I think we have at least a couple of years before we become old married people."

They had been married the afternoon before, amid all the snow and ice and resulting traffic jams. By the time the ceremony was over, a state of emergency had been declared for the greater metropolitan areas of Washington D.C. and the airports were closed.

They had chosen the Bahamas for their honeymoon, they were only granted a week of leave. It had been a gift from his mother and stepfather, Harm had wanted to take Mac away and give her a honeymoon she would never forget.

They were to stay in a private villa on Musha Cay, with a 360 degree view of the ocean. He wanted to show her how special she was to him, that he would give her the world if he had the power to do so. But fate intervened and they spent most of their honeymoon, happily snowed into Harm's apartment.

"Harm and Mac returned to JAG the week after their honeymoon, with Mac joining the judiciary branch at JAG Headquarters. They had barely had time to adjust to married life when they were blessed, right away, with a daughter. Zara Fatemeh Rabb. Her birthday fell on a special day. She was born on the birthday of the Marine Corps, November 10, 2000, to her mother's joy and her father's consternation."

XO Gabriel and Lieutenant Clarence turned their attention to the next two years of the Mackenzie Rabb marriage.

2022

May, 25 2001

Olivia and Juliet's

Georgetown.

Harm turned his beautiful wife as they danced on the small dance floor. They were enjoying a rare night out, to celebrate the nuptials of Commander Mic Brumby RAN and Lieutenant Commander Carolyn Imes. The entire 'inner circle' at JAG had been invited. It was a lovely dinner and they were finishing it with dancing.

"Come on luv, how about a dance for the one that got away." Mic appeared suddenly, his bride to be still in his arms. He gave Harm a wink and quickly swept Mac from Harm's loose embrace, back onto the dance floor. Mac laughed then looked at Harm over his shoulder, giving him a reassuring smile.

Mac knew that she was, in fact, the one who 'got away.' Mic had never been the one for her, she had known it long before she and Harm finally admitted their feelings for each other.

Harm watched as Mic and Mac danced. At that moment he wondered if she really was happy with the choice she'd made in marrying him. She had given up a lot. She had been Chief of Staff for Admiral Chegwidden. When they married, she had insisted on transferring to the judiciary. They had intended to start a family right away, though not as quickly as nine months later. Mac didn't want to take the chance of being transferred away from Headquarters JAG. Harm knew she missed working on investigations though, she was an excellent litigator. She didn't seem to regret the choices she made, but life might have been very different for her if she had chosen Mic.

He had offered to try and get a billet out of the Pentagon, but Mac wouldn't hear of it. If truth were told, he was relieved. The thought of 'flying a desk' was bad enough, but at least at JAG, he got out of the office for investigations and for shipboard litigations.

Harm had become lost in his thoughts when Mac walked up beside him.

"Penny for your thoughts?'

"I don't know if they're worth that much." He smiled wryly.

Mac frowned. "What's the matter?"

Harm suddenly felt foolish for what he had been thinking, her beautiful features actually seemed to glow with happiness. No one looking at her would think she had a 6 month old daughter at home.

"Nothing, you look wonderful tonight."

"Thank you, but keep your voice down Sailor, I wouldn't want my husband to hear you." She cocked an eye brow, teasing.

He pulled her into his arms and kissed her lightly on the lips. "Run away with me, he doesn't deserve you." Harm kept his voice low and suggestive. "We'll go someplace where they'll never find us." He played along but thought it really would be wonderful to get away for a while, to have her all to himself, without their jobs and responsibilities taking them away from each other.

They had planned to go away for their anniversary last February, but he had been called away at the last minute to an assignment in Australia, while she stayed home in snowy DC with the baby and a bad cold to boot.

The party began to break up shortly thereafter. Harm walked out of the building while Mac gave her last good wishes of the evening, to the bride to be. As he stood waiting for the valet to bring their new van around, he was approached by someone he never expected to see. Commander Teddy Lindsey seemed to appear out of nowhere.

Harm looked at him as though he was the lowest form of life and he should keep his distance. He smiled without humor as he thought Lindsey actually looked smaller, out of uniform.

Lindsey sensed his distain for him, but reined in his response, Rabb had always seen himself as better than he, though Lindsey knew he had a far better record than Rabb ever did. So what, he thought unreasonably, Rabb had a couple of DFC's; he was just in the right place at the right time. Rabb was a washed out naval aviator and mediocre lawyer who got by on theatrics, not talent. He had come to make Rabb an offer, a position with the CIA. He hoped the lure of flying, even if it was for Air America, would be enough to get him out of JAG and off Lindsey's own radar screen. When Lindsey heard of the opening, he thought he might finally be finished with hearing about 'the adventures of Harmon Rabb,' since any of his missions would be covert. Lindsey was sick of him and he wanted Rabb out of his way. He also still wanted to make him pay for his part in replacing him at JAG.

"Lindsey, what are you doing here?" Harm had turned away from him and was looking out into the courtyard, just adjacent to Olivia and Juliet's.

"My wife and I are with another party, given by the SecNav." Lindsey turned away from him as well, trying to keep his tone of voice friendly, belying his distaste for Commander Rabb and any of the present staff at JAG.

'I just happened to see you here and I thought now, was as good a time as any, to tell you about a billet you might be very interested in."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Why would Lindsey be interested in a billet for him?

"Your country is in need of your aviation skills Rabb."

"What?" He turned his head quickly.

"Langley is sorely in need of competent pilots, with…how shall I say it? Unique skills, in the air." Lindsey was trying hard to appeal to Rabb's ego, though it was galling him to do so.

"I don't think I'm Air America material." He turned away from him again, clearly dismissing him.

Lindsey raised his brows, trying to appear as though it made little difference to him. "Well, I suppose it is a bit unorthodox, even for you." He couldn't resist the last shot.

Harm put his hands in his pockets and turned to look directly at him. "Even for me."

"Look, forget I said anything, your focus might be a bit off, now that you're a family man. That particular job isn't for just anyone…..A lot of money though." Lindsey looked away, knowing he had planted a seed in Rabb's mind about the position.

Harm was quiet for a moment. He and Mac were doing alright; money wasn't really a problem, though they were far from wealthy. They could always rely on his parents, if they ever needed to, though outside of their honeymoon, Harm wouldn't hear of taking anything from them. The part that appealed to him was flying, really making a difference, he felt buried at JAG at times. He missed flying more than he let anyone know, even Mac.

"Think about it Rabb. You don't have to answer right away, just give me a call." The friendly smile looked completely out of place on his face.

Harm turned to look at him again and as he did, Mac approached from behind them.

Lindsey turned to look at her as Mac acknowledged him, "Commander Lindsey."

"Colonel Rabb or May I say... Sarah?" He gave Mac a look that was both condescending and disgustingly leering.

Harm saw it and remembered the true character of the man with whom he had been speaking. He was a small, back stabbing little spider that never did anything without an ulterior motive.

Lindsey looked back again at Harm and was puzzled by the unguarded disgust on Rabb's face. He decided to ignore it, hoping his plan would still fly. "Get back with me Monday Rabb."

"There wont be any need for that Lindsey, my answer is no."

"No?" He looked totally confused.

"You heard me; I don't know what your motives were for coming here and making your 'offer' but I can tell you, I'm not buying any of it. This doesn't have a damn thing to do with what is best for the country."

Mac stood closer to Harm and took his arm. He looked as though he might deck the Commander right here in front of everyone. Under her voice she tried to calm him. "Harm."

Lindsey looked from Harm to Mac.

"Get the hell out of here Lindsey, and if you ever come near either of us again, other than in an official capacity, I'll snap you like a twig." Harm could barely control himself, the bastard knew how to play him, and he had nearly fallen for it.

Lindsey understood now what Rabb had seen. The Colonel, another of the 'clique' at JAG who displaced him, seemed to bring out the worst in him. She was still a very sexy lady, and she had always used that to her advantage. Lindsey could only see her as he knew she was, just another woman, rising in the ranks in the only way she knew how. He had made the mistake of failing to conceal it.

No matter, he and Commander Rabb would meet again.

Harm and Mac made their way back home. Harm had been silent since they left the party.

"Harm, what happened back there?"

He continued to be quiet for a moment then said, "Mac, I don't really want to talk about it. Lindsey just got under my skin. It doesn't matter what he said. He's an idiot."

Mac watched him for a moment. Then deciding to leave the subject alone, she attempted to distract him out of his sour mood.

"I cant disagree with that." She reached over as he drove toward their house in Arlington and skimmed her fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck, hoping the gesture would return his focus to her.

"Let's not let him spoil this night. I've had such a good time; I got to dance with a handsome sailor most of the evening."

Harm couldn't conceal his smile as it stole across his face. He glanced at her and was drawn in by the mischievous look in her eyes. He returned his eyes to the traffic as they exited off of the beltway. "Think you'll be seeing this sailor again?"

"Oh, I hope so." She answered him with the sultry tone of her voice giving him just the slightest a hint of invitation.

Harm pushed down on the accelerator, just slightly, hoping Zara was fast asleep.

They both went to check on their sleeping baby after they thanked his mother for staying with her. Trish and Frank had taken a place in Arlington as soon as they heard that Mac was expecting Zara.

As they dressed for bed, Harm's mind returned to the thoughts he had as he watched Mac dance with Mic at the party earlier that night. Was she happy? Did she regret all that she had given up for him?

Mac had stretched out on the bed and was watching Harm as he approached their bed, wondering when he was finally going to tell her what was on his mind. He had been distracted since just before the party ended.

"Honey, what is it?"

"Nothing."

Mac looked at him knowingly, and waited for him to tell her.

"It's nothing." He answered her unspoken question.

"Harm."

Harm sat down on the side of the bed and turned toward her. She looked so beautiful lying there, he was so glad she had chosen him. He looked away, still embarrassed about what his thoughts had been.

"I just, sometimes, I wonder…if you regret…not choosing Mic. You've given up a lot for…us." He took her hand and finally looked at her again. "Life could have been a lot different for you."

Mac gave him an indulgent smile. "Harm, I am exactly where I want to be, I have no regrets. I intend to have the career I want and the family I want. I'm just playing catch up with the family part, for now."

Harm leaned across the bed and pulled her into his arms. He loved her so much.

Mac rose up slightly and kissed him. "Besides, I want my babies to look like you."

Harm kissed her but when the word 'babies' registered in his mind, he came up for air. He knitted his brow and asked. "Babies…..as in more than one?"

Mac just gave him an amused look and let him draw his own conclusions for a couple of long seconds. "Well, I'm only having one at a time."

"One at a time? Mac, are you saying that we…"

"Well Harmon… we are a dynamite team and it looks like we are both over achievers with something other than military law." A smile spread slowly across her face as she watched the realization dawn on him.

"You're pregnant?" Harm's eyebrows were up; his deer in the headlights look was firmly in place.

"Yes, we are."

"Are you okay, isn't this too soon?"

"It might be a little soon but I think we both know we're making up for lost time. Are you okay with this?"

Harm felt his heart beat accelerate as he finally grasped what was really happening, they were truly going to be a family, having Zara made them parents, but having another child seemed to bring them full circle. He felt ten feet tall, like the richest man on earth. "Mac…" He kissed her, this time more passionately. "Sarah."

The years that followed brought a lot of changes to the Rabbs and their extended family at JAG. Life changed as anyone knew it, after the attacks of September 11. The tension level around Washington in those days had been unbelievable, but the sense of purpose of the men and women in uniform had increased tenfold. Their enemies had shown themselves, if temporarily. Those enemies were being pursued, and for the moment, called what they were and had always been, terrorists.

The happy news that followed was that the year 2002 began with the celebration of the birth of Harm and Mac's son, John David. Mac's pregnancy had been difficult and she had to go to limited duty in her 3rd month, but as she said, Little Jack had been worth it. He had been named for his 'uncle' Jack Keeter and his middle name, David had been Harm and his father's middle name and also, Harm's grandfather's first name.

Life went on in 2002 and seemed more precious because of the losses of so many in New York, Pennsylvania, and at the Pentagon.

Bud landed a position as shipboard JAG on the Seahawk a position he accepted with the encouragement of his superiors and eventually his wife.

Mac returned to full duty in April of 2002 with the love and support of her husband and a great deal of help from her mother in law.

Harm and Bud both had nearly lost their lives in May of 2002.

Following up on a case Bud and his legalman Jennifer Coates flew from the Seahawk to Khandahar. Bud stepped on a mine while in country, trying to save a young boy standing in a minefield and had lost his leg in the process. Bud eventually returned to JAG headquarters. His adjustment to his loss had been anything but easy, but with the support of his family and friends he returned to duty, seemingly better than ever.

Harm had walked away from his mission unscathed; he had been a part of an operation that uncovered a plot to launch a nuke packed with unshielded uranium at the Seahawk battle group. Harm had been one of two pilots who drew it far enough away from the battle group for it to lose its power and drop into the ocean.

The captain of the Seahawk had nominated him for yet another DFC and Commander Lindsey seethed. How Rabb always managed to get into an F-14 every other time he was aboard a carrier, was beyond him.

The events that occurred in the Persian Gulf and in Afghanistan that spring would have far reaching repercussions. Over time, it would start a chain of events that would spell the beginning of the end in the careers of many, from the SecNav all the way down to Commander Rabb.

A hunger for power and revenge would drive one man to follow a paper trail from Washington to Paraguay to Russia and back again to Washington.

TBC

A/N: I know, this is taking a turn, (I've made Commander Lindsey very Mr. Potterish, frankly, I don't think Lindsey had that much gumption) but it is going to mirror the events of 'It's a Wonderful Life' but in a much more dramatic way. This has turned into a much more serious story than I intended. It will get much more intense before the story ends, fair warning. I'm just going where its taking me…if that makes sense. I wrote this as a way to lighten up and I'm afraid, I'm in the dark for the time being. Bear with me folks; I know where I'm going. (Smile)

A/N: Zara is Arabic for Sarah. Fatemeh is Sarah Mackenzie Rabb's grandmother's name.

I just could not call a child of Harm and Mac's…. Zuzu. g 


	5. Chapter 5

'It's a Wonderful Life' at JAG

Chapter 5

Disclaimers: I don't own any of the JAG characters. I don't own any product or label mentioned for the purposes of telling this story. I don't own the rights to the story or movie 'It's a Wonderful Life.' Any similarities to situations or persons living or dead are purely coincidental.

Spoilers: Any JAG episode is fair game. Remember… the order of events and their results will be entirely different than the show. This is definitely AU.

A/N: Thanks to everyone for the positive feedback and for the good thoughts and prayers in a tough and trying time. This is a great community!

A/N: This chapter sets up the next; it is full of detail that is essential to make the story work. Hold on to your hats! I promise it will all come together next chapter. (Smile)

A/N: Thank you Karen for your beta reading skills.

Rating K+

_**In the heavens above Northern Virginia…..**_

XO Gabriel and Lieutenant Clarence watched as a very dejected Commander Teddy Lindsey stood out in the parking lot of JAG Headquarters. He was leaning against his vehicle, looking up at the window of Admiral Chegwidden's office.

Commander Lindsey had tried to talk with Admiral Chegwidden about his possible selection on the O-6 board. Surely, the Admiral had no ill will against him. When he had been able to catch up with the Admiral yesterday, he had been very uncomfortable when he tried to speak with him. He knew for a fact that the SecNav had tried to put in a good word for him. He believed that connecting with him would help the Admiral remember how good his selection might be for his own career.

The Commander's cell phone ring tone pulled him from his reverie, he answered. "Commander Lindsey"

"Teddy, we have the final results of the O-6 board."

He waited in silence.

"You weren't selected."

"I see."

"I know this is a disappointment to you, but I want you to know that I did speak with Admiral Chegwidden and the board was reconvened, but they ended with the same result."

"I understand."

"I hope you do understand that if I were to intervene further, it could jeopardize both of our careers. It could be construed at undue command influence. I don't think it would be advantageous for either of us to have that on our records."

"Yes, sir" The Commander's responses were controlled and automatic.

"You've been doing a great job for me Teddy, your time will come." The SecNav tried to be reassuring but he knew Lindsey was terribly disappointed.

"Yes, sir"

"I'll speak with you tomorrow."

"Yes, sir." Lindsey slowly closed his cell phone as he returned his attention to the window of the office it was his ambition to someday occupy. His time would come. This set back only made him more determined to advance and throw every last one of Chegwidden's little 'clique' out of JAG Ops, and if possible the Navy, forever. He just had to find a way in.

The commander was startled from his thoughts by an unfamiliar voice. A beautiful young woman stood before him in a Naval Lieutenants uniform.

"Excuse me, sir, but aren't you Commander Lindsey?"

"Yes, I am." Commander Lindsey was still trying to compose himself.

She offered him her hand and he shook it. "Lieutenant Loren Singer, I've only just been assigned to JAG Ops. Pleased to meet you, sir. I understand you work with the SecNav…. it must be fascinating work."

"Yes, it is." He mustered a smile.

"I would love to hear about it sometime." The lieutenant smiled sweetly and took one more step closer to him. She was not inappropriately close, but she was making it clear that she wanted to know him better.

"I would love to tell you about it." He recognized the look of someone who could be similarly ambitious.

"I'm finished for the day, sir… and if you're not busy?"

"No, and you can catch me up with things at JAG. I was assigned there before my present tenure with the SecNav."

"Yes, sir. That is what I understand, I'm sure you are missed here at JAG Ops." Singer wanted to flatter the man, she hoped, without being too obvious.

Commander Lindsey had found a way inside, as if the fates had heard his thoughts, and if what he suspected was true, he had just met someone as ambitious as he.

"Shall we?" The Commander opened the car door on the passenger side of the vehicle.

"Oh, thank you sir."

This could be the beginning of a very fruitful relationship.

0800

Monday

February 12 2004

Nelson Residence

The former Secretary of the Navy Alexander Nelson watched his television screen as the ZNN reporter spoke about the scene behind her. It was the newest SecNav Sheffield, flanked by two of JAG's best senior attorneys, Commander's Harmon Rabb and Sturgis Turner.

Nelson had heard about Secretary Sheffield 'volunteering' to be tried in The Hague. It had disgusted him; he believed it was grandstanding, pure and simple.

Nelson thought back to the Senate hearings, hearings convened after an operation that saved the lives of everyone in the Seahawk Battle Group. Someone had alerted a Senator, with a great deal of influence, that the staff of the Judge Advocate Generals office had been utilized and operated without the knowledge of upper level personnel at the Pentagon and at the CIA. He had been hung out to dry, while the staff at JAG walked away from the incident without a ding on their records. Rabb had even been decorated… again.

Nelson had lost his position in the new administration, he had been surprised to be kept on after the last election, but any good will he had been able to garner since then, was gone. True, he was an appointee of the previous administration, but he felt he had served the President well.

This had all been too easy; for Sheffield to have been his primary accuser in the Senate hearings and then to have stepped into his place. He had been betrayed and the only other people who were as deeply involved as he, were being promoted, not punished.

He had not heard anything from or about Clayton Webb, but that was not unusual. He had heard, from his former assistant, Commander Lindsey, that the CIA operative had been transferred to South America, for no apparent reason. Teddy seemed to feel that there was more to it than that, but he really had no way of knowing.

He appreciated that Lindsey kept his ear to the ground for him. At least the Commander had not lost his job; though Chegwidden had sat on the O-6 board that refused to promote him. No one deserved promotion more than Commander Lindsey, to the former SecNav's mind.

1045

November 30, 2004

Office of the Secretary of the Navy

Washington D.C.

Teddy Lindsey happened to be very busy, at this point in his career, busy in some very serious self promotion. He had stumbled upon something that would exact revenge so complete and so sweet on his 'friends' at JAG that anything he had to endure up to this point was worth it.

He had kept his position as one of three assistants assigned to Secretary Sheffield, after the former SecNav's dismissal. If truth were told, Teddy Lindsey had been instrumental in informing the then Senator, Sheffield of the 'secret' joint mission utilizing members of the JAG corps and the CIA. He had a great deal of assistance; of course, Lieutenant Loren Singer had been his primary source of information.

Nelson had never suspected him and didn't to this day.

Today had begun like any other and then as he was going to enter the SecNav's office, what he heard was a gift, he thought, right out of heaven.

He had walked up to the SecNav's nearly closed door, to overhear Deputy Director Kershaw speaking with his boss.

"I don't have to tell you Mr. Secretary, how many careers and perhaps lives are at stake if this information gets into the wrong hands. One of Webb's sources for that information is living in the US under an assumed name. Russia may be our ally in the war on terror but it is a fragile truce. They will come after anyone they think will compromise their standing in the world. If the world community believed they had taken American POW's from Vietnam, during the Vietnam War, the damage to their creditability of their government would be enormous It could jeopardize their standing on the UN Security Council. Vietnam and the MIA issue still cast a long shadow in this country and elsewhere."

The SecNav considered what the Deputy Director had just said and then he spoke.

"I don't even want to think about what a Senate committee could do with this. They'd roast half of JAG Ops on a spit. I'm sure you have nothing to fear from anyone at JAG, they stand to lose most and they are the only ones who know. As for the other issue, Rabb isn't going to pursue something that he knows nothing about."

"The missions that Rabb and Mackenzie assisted Agent Webb with, unwittingly or not, place them in a very precarious position. The fact that we now know, but cannot confirm, that his father was, in fact, transported to Russia from Vietnam, must never come to light. They must have complete deniability. There is also the possibility of a child, of an American MIA, conceived while he was living in Russia; even the suggestion could be explosive."

"It is my understanding that Rabb's father is dead and there was never a body recovered. I don't see a problem."

"The problem is that Rabb and Mackenzie were in close communication with two KGB agents, an Agent Sokol, and another named Mikhail Parlovsky. Parlovsky is dead, but Sokol could be anywhere. They spent a great deal of time unaccompanied by anyone while they were in country, in Russia. Who knows what kind of contacts they made? It is in your department's best interest to keep that out of the press, to say it would harm the influence and prestige of the Navy and every administration since 1968, would be an understatement. Wasn't the JAG himself involved in that mission?"

"According to my predecessor, Chegwidden went to Russia to recover his people; he had no idea what he had walked into, until Agent Webb told him." The SecNav looked at the deputy Director over his spectacles and sat more deeply into his leather chair.

"Unfortunately Webb can't corroborate any of this; he was killed on a mission in Paraguay last year. Since that time, it has come to light that we have a rogue agent, someone who had access to everything Webb knew about that time."

"I see."

The Deputy Director walked back toward the door and Lindsey made a hasty retreat. He could barely contain his composure, what he had just heard gave him a way of ruining the careers of everyone he believed had wronged him at JAG.

All he had to do what get enough documentation to fill in the blanks of the story, and then spin it in the direction he wanted it to go.

He hadn't seen Loren in awhile, all he needed to do was put the 'carrot' in front of her. All it would take would be the possibility of a nice political job at the Pentagon, or better yet, a job with him at JAG. That is, after he cleaned house.

1845

December 2 2004

Benziger's Bar

Georgetown

Lieutenant Loren Singer sat across from Lindsey, so full of information and herself she could barely contain it. She believed she had learned enough from that idiot Lieutenant Roberts to allow Commander Lindsey to clear the way for her senior attorney's position at JAG.

Commander Rabb and probably Admiral Chegwidden were as good as out of there. Too bad they didn't have anything on Turner. Singer wasn't overly concerned; he was too much of a boy scout to be a threat anyway.

If anything came back to her at JAG, she could merely say her source of information was 'dear old' Bud. She had taken a immediate dislike to Lieutenant Roberts when she came to JAG, everyone seemed to be falling all over themselves to cover his six, now they would see who they had been protecting…a bungling idiot.

Getting Roberts to open up about how this had come about, had been ridiculously easy, all she had to do was pretend her admiration for Commander Rabb and throw out what little she knew about the situation, and helpful Bud, filled in the blanks.

"Well, what do you have?"

"According to Lieutenant Roberts, Commander Rabb first heard the rumor about POW's being transported to Russia from a CIA agent, his name is Clayton Webb. He told him about the possibility of this book that had the names of American POW's that had apparently been transported to Russia. There were these SOG agents… another name for the CIA in Vietnam… involved, at least one of them was a double agent and they both knew where Commander Rabb's father was in Russia….but listen to this…"

Teddy Lindsey's mouth was watering. This couldn't get any better.

"I have a friend who works for State, and she once worked for an associate of Agent Webb's before he was killed. When I told her about the information I was looking for and about Agent Webb's connection to it, she said she'd ask around, discreetly, of course."

"And?" Teddy was losing his patience.

"She called back today; she said an agent, Edward Hardy, worked with Agent Webb before he was killed. Hardy says he has information that he was sure you might want. He refused to go through his former secretary; Hardy says he wants to meet with you, privately."

The hair stood up on the nape of Lindsey's neck. This could be all he needed or it could be a trap that would land him in Leavenworth.

He already had enough pressure in the SecNav's office, dealing with another woman who had no business in uniform. Lieutenant Commander Traci Manetti. She had actually been working at JAG, when they were short handed. It was a mystery to him that Chegwidden could use her help and not his. Sheffield claimed to be a close friend of her father, but Lindsey thought he knew better. They always seemed so secretive; something had to be going on.

"When? Where?" Lindsey refocused on what Singer was saying.

Singer took a phone number out of her pocket and handed it to the Commander. "He wants you to call him at this number."

1745

December 10 2004

Jefferson Bridge

Arlington, Virginia

Commander Teddy Lindsey stood on the bridge at its center, directly over the Potomac. It was just starting to get dark, though the lights on the lampposts on each side of the bridge had yet to come on. A man passed behind him and Lindsey tried to discreetly watch him, waiting to see if it was the person he had come to meet.

The man walked nearly 20 feet away, and then stopped to look out at the river. He dropped his keys, and slipped a large manila envelope out of the inner pocket of his overcoat as he retrieved his keys, he placed the envelope on the walk, near one of the posts. He never looked at Lindsey, he did not acknowledge him at all, the man merely walked on, leaving the bridge and walking along the shoulder of the road. He eventually got into a car that was parked nearly a quarter mile down the road. Lindsey could not discern his plate or even the model of the car from that distance.

Once the man left, Lindsey walked over and picked up the manila envelope, he placed it inside his coat and made his way, as quickly as he could, to his vehicle. He sat in the front seat, tempted to tear open the package, but he feared discovery or worse yet, that the man would return. He went back to his office at the Pentagon, the manila envelope and its secrets, sitting on the front seat beside him.

Once he got back and had locked his office door, he sat down at his desk with only the small desk lamp on and opened the package. As he read, he began to smile, more and more broadly, and then he began to laugh. This was perfect, this information had cast suspicion on every one he wanted to punish, even the JAG himself.

According to these documents, Webb was a double agent; who suspected that Rabb's father had been transported to Russia because he had agreed to cooperate with the KGB. Commander Rabb and the then Major Mackenzie had multiple exchanges of information with known Soviet Agents. Chegwidden had also played a role in the trip, they had taken to Russia in 1998. He had them all. Not one of them would escape the harsh scrutiny of a curious press and power hungry politicians of every stripe, competing for the most favorable publicity.

All he had to do now was get the SecNav worried about the Navy receiving bad publicity and allow him to 'suggest' a way to curtail it. He had a friend at the Globe; maybe he should give him a call.

**_At that same moment, outside the building…._**

Edward Hardy sat in the large secured parking lot at the Pentagon. He sat in his vehicle, parked next to Lindsey's, the one he had shadowed all the way over here. This ambitious little sycophant would be his salvation. Webb had, in fact, suspected Hardy had turned rogue and had nearly uncovered Hardy's double agent status in Paraguay. Now, any suspicions Langley might have about him will surely die, as Agent Webb had. The bigger story and all of the Company's energies would go into covering themselves in this scandal; they would be too busy to follow up on whatever Webb had told them, if he had the chance to tell them anything.

**_In the heavens above Northern Virginia…._**

Now Lieutenant Clarence understood, this man was not only going to destroy Commander Rabb's career but the memory and honor of his father and of his extended family at JAG. Him, his wife, and his mentor at JAG would all lose their careers; all of their families would be destroyed.

Now he understood the reason the Commander might want to throw everything away and why he must stop him.

A/N: Singers role at JAG comes much later in this story and she had much less status, but no less ambition. (Smile)

A/N: Just a reminder that this story is sooo AU. I should call it 'Scrambled JAG.' LOL! I know I'm pulling people and numerous situations from all ten years of JAG and not in the order that they occurred. Just letting you know, again, I know. (smile)


	6. Chapter 6

'It's a Wonderful Life' at JAG

Chapter 6

Disclaimers: I don't own any of the JAG characters. I don't own any product or label mentioned for the purposes of telling this story. I don't own the rights to the movie or story 'It's a Wonderful Life.' Any similarities to situations or persons living or dead are purely coincidental.

Spoilers: Some events in these season 8 episodes will be referred to, 'Fortunate Son' and 'Second Acts.' Just a reminder, events will not happen in the same order or have the same consequences as the original episodes. This is AU.

A/N: This is a warning, this is a very difficult part of the story, and if you are familiar with the movie, you will know why. Fair warning and if it makes you feel any better, it was as tough to write as it might be for you to read.

Rating K

1630

December, 13, 2004

JAG Headquarters

Falls Church, Virginia

The late afternoon sun shone through the windows and onto Admiral Chegwidden's desk. He had just replaced the handset on the phone when he buzzed Petty Officer Coates.

"Coates, inform Commander Rabb that I would like to see him, before he leaves for the day."

"Yes, sir." Was Coates answer through the intercom.

_**Later….**_

Harm walked into the Admirals outer office.

"Can he see me now, Coates?"

"Let me see, sir."

She buzzed his office, "Yes, Coates."

"Admiral Chegwidden, I have Commander Rabb, to see you sir." She looked back at Commander Rabb as she spoke.

"Send him in."

Harm entered his office. "You wanted to see me, sir?"

"Have a seat." The Admiral nodded toward the chairs which sat in front of his desk.

Harm did as he was asked.

"I got a call from the SecNav's office this afternoon….It seems that we have to deal with an editorial which appeared in the Washington Globe yesterday."

He frowned. "Sir?" What could this have to do with him?

"The editorial was about the government's waste of taxpayer dollars, especially those taxpayer dollars allotted to the military."

He knew this could not be good. He was well aware that he, himself, had been a strain on the budget of Headquarters JAG since he was assigned here, nearly 10 years ago.

"The SecNav has decided to be proactive in this matter, so he has authorized an audit of our expenditures here at JAG."

Harm waited, there was more, he could sense it.

"The person he has chosen for that duty is Commander Teddy Lindsey."

The name caught Harm's attention immediately, of all the people in the SecNav's office to choose, he thought. He remembered their conversation a few years ago. The great thing had been, that he hadn't seen Lindsey since. He wasn't looking forward to seeing him again. His thoughts must have been written all over his face because the Admiral asked,

"Is there something I need to know about, Commander?"

"It's probably nothing sir." Harm was hedging, he didn't want to explain to the Admiral that he had basically told Lindsey that if he ever came near him or Mac, in anything other than a professional capacity, he would snap him like a twig.

"Let me be the judge of that."

'It's just that Commander Lindsey and I, the last time we spoke…we weren't on the best of terms."

Admiral Chegwidden frowned. He remembered his own last encounter with Commander Lindsey and the pressure placed on him by Secretary Nelson to promote him when he chaired the 0-6 board. Since Lindsey wasn't selected, it was clear he wasn't on the best of terms with him either.

"Did your last conversation involve anything that might interfere with your ability to assist Commander Lindsey while he is conducting the audit?"

"No sir, it was a personal matter, not professional." Well, not really, but he didn't want to have to tell the Admiral that Lindsey had tried to tempt him with a job that involved flying. He still didn't understand why Lindsey seemed so interested in his career, at that point.

"See that you keep the personal and professional separate, through out this audit, Commander. Am I clear?" The Admiral had leaned forward in his chair and looked at Harm directly.

"Yes, sir"

"That will be all, you're dismissed"

Harm rose from his seat and came to attention. "Sir."

As he walked to the door, the Admiral spoke, "Rabb."

Harm turned, "Sir?"

"He will be interviewing Mac as well."

"I'll tell her." 'Just great,' he thought. This was just getting better and better.

_**In the heavens above Northern Virginia….**_

For once Lieutenant Clarence asked no questions as XO Gabriel explained the unfolding events.

"Commander Lindsey conducted his audit over the course of the next 10 days. Everyone was cooperative, some personnel, more than others. Lieutenant Singer, as always was the most helpful of all. She had given him access to the personnel files of everyone at JAG.

He knew everything from the most minor indiscretion to what he saw as blatant abuse of authority and command influence. While all the minor infractions were things that would never stand as credible points in an article 32, for the people whom Lindsey resented most, he had more than enough to get an article 32 underway. He could almost guarantee courts martial for Admiral Chegwidden, Commander and Colonel Rabb. He would not only have them out of the Navy, he meant to send the lot of them to Leavenworth."

Harm sat at his desk, just finishing up for the day, a lot of the staff had already secured early. He picked up the phone to let Mac know he was on his way, he and Bud were both running late. They were to have dinner with Bud and Harriet tonight and then spend the afternoon Christmas Day with his mother and Frank.

Mac answered the phone, sounding slightly out of breath. "Hello."

"Hey, slow down Marine, I just wanted to let you know I'm finally on my way home. How are things going?"

"Zara has a temperature and I can't get your son to slow down long enough to get him dressed." Mac laughed in spite of herself. "He's your son, Harm."

"Zara's sick?" Harm's happy grin at his son's antics temporarily left him.

"Its low grade, just 100.2, but she's going to have to stay home, I spoke with Jen, and she's going to stay…" Harm was relieved momentarily, only to be startled by loud a crash in the background. "Jack, what are you into?" Mac called to her son.

Harm's smile returned; Little Jack had turned into quite a little tornado since he started toddling.

"What's he into now?" He could hear Mac walking across a tiled floor.

Mac walked into the kitchen. "Great… he pulled all the pots and pans out of the cabinet…he's sitting in the wok." Little Jack sat on the floor his blue eyes bright with happiness, holding his arms out to make an imaginary plane.

Harm laughed out loud when he heard his son say. "I fly Mommy! Brrrrmmmm!"

"Honey, I have to go, I'll tell you more when you get here." Mac ended the call before he had a chance to say goodbye.

Harm was clearing his desk and putting a few files into his brief case, when Commander Lindsey walked into the room.

Harm couldn't keep the sarcastic smile from his face when he saw him. "Saving the best for last, Commander?"

"I wouldn't say that Commander Rabb, but I am finished with my audit." 'Laugh now you idiot, I have you now' Lindsey thought smugly.

"How can that be? I haven't spoken with you yet, you seem to have spoken with everyone here at JAG, but my wife and myself."

'I'll get to the point Rabb, I have spoken with nearly everyone in this office, and for the most part, what I have discovered through my interviews is that , with a few minor adjustments this office can run efficiently, with a lot less expense, than has been required up to this point." Lindsey purposely tried to bore him with the details of dollars and cents, just before he hit him with what he knew would be the destruction of Rabb's life as he knew it.

Harm stood and was already thinking about leaving his office and Teddy Lindsey to whatever 'illusions of grandeur' he had concocted for himself.

"I think you should slow down Commander Rabb, what I have to say concerns you and people I'm sure you're very close to."

"You said you were going to make your point Lindsey….do it, I have things to do." He wanted to get away from him before Lindsey had the chance to spoil what he had been looking forward to all day. Getting out of this office and home to with his friends and family.

Lindsey tuned and closed Harm's office door. "I won't rehash incidents like turning your hallowed halls of justice into a shooting gallery. Or that you have personally burned through over 10 billion dollars worth of flight equipment, most of which was after you left flight status to become a lawyer."

Harm was getting tired of this diatribe. "It's galling you isn't it? It's the classic good child syndrome. You do all the right things, talk to all the right people and still get passed up for promotion. While I haven't always done things by the book, but I've managed to keep my career, and I believe the respect of my peers"

Commander Lindsey could control himself no longer. "I hope you enjoy your Christmas Rabb, because after Christmas, you're not going to have anything to celebrate. Your life, your career as you know it, is about to change drastically."

"What the hell are you talking about, Lindsey?" Harm's patience was nearing an end.

Commander Lindsey had an advanced copy of the Washington Globe, to be distributed on newsstands the day after Christmas. He opened his briefcase and laid it on Harm's desk.

The headline read. "Former POW implicated in espionage." His father's picture was under the headline. With the caption that identified him as Lt. Harmon Rabb Sr.

In smaller lettering, "the former POW's son and other personnel at the Navy's Judge Advocate Generals office are also implicated."

"Is this a joke?" Teddy Lindsey couldn't possibly know anything about his father.

"Oh it's no joke Commander Rabb. I have evidence that your father was transported to Russia after he was captured by the North Vietnamese, that he cooperated with the KGB or what ever incarnation it was referred to at the time, and that you, your wife and your commanding officer met on several occasions with known Russian agents."

"You're out of your mind, Lindsey; you don't know what the hell you're talking about." Harm felt a knot forming in the pit of his stomach.

"I know exactly what I'm talking about Rabb. Keep this; I'll get a copy when it comes out day after tomorrow." He was getting through now, he was sure of it.

"You're crazy, your former boss knows all about this, no one here and certainly not my father were ever involved in espionage." Lindsey had accomplished one thing, he had accused his father of something that Harm had feared more than anything. He could not stand even the thought that anyone would think his father a traitor to his country, or as anything less than an honorable man.

Lindsey sneered at him. "It's happened before and you know how the old saying goes, 'like father, like son.'

a

Harm turned to call the SecNav's office.

Lindsey knew what he was doing. "Don't bother Rabb, the SecNav is out of his office until after the first of the year, I have his cell number, but I don't intend to share it with you."

"I'll talk with Nelson, he can disprove everything you told the Globe..." He could not allow this accusation to stand, unanswered.

"Former Secretary Nelson is out of the country, and if you think anyone at the CIA can help you, save your breath. We know about Clayton Webb's status as double agent, I intend to expose him for the traitor he was."

"You don't know what you're doing." Harm remembered Porter Webb speaking of her son's service and that of Clayton's father. The tradition of service to their country was as strong with them as it was with his family. Then something occurred to him, something he missed when Lindsey had spoken it. "Wait a minute….was. You said the traitor he… was." Lindsey had been speaking of him in the past tense.

"Clayton Webb is dead; he was killed in Paraguay, before he could spend another day, betraying his country. For the record, Rabb, I know exactly what I'm doing. I'm clearing this office of liabilities, of people who are discrediting the good name of the naval service. You are on your way out Rabb, you, your wife and your 'friend' Chegwidden."

He turned on his heel, opened the door and walked out of Harm's office.

Harm was still reeling, trying to grasp what was happening here. Webb was dead? Harm followed Lindsey to his office door; he watched him walk away, still unable to believe what he had just heard. He saw Lieutenant Singer enter the bullpen and as she passed Commander Lindsey, she smiled and greeted him. Harm heard her say, "Good Afternoon sir."

He looked up in time to see Commander Lindsey touch her arm. Harm knew immediately how he had accessed all of their personnel files. It must have been through Lieutenant Singer. Since her arrival, Singer had done little to endear herself to the staff at JAG. She had shown nothing but callousness and blind ambition in all her dealings with her clients and staff. Harm called her into his office.

"Lieutenant Singer, a word with you." This was crazy, Lindsey couldn't possible know anything of value. He would make short work of this stupid accusation. Lindsey was crazy with professional jealousy, he always had been, and everyone who had ever really known Lindsey, knew that about him.

Lieutenant Singer entered Harms office. She came to attention.

"At ease Lieutenant." Harm was still standing, he walked to his window and as he watched Commander Lindsey walking across the parking lot, he asked the lieutenant.

"How well do you know Commander Lindsey, Lieutenant?'

Singer, feigning confusion asked, "Sir?"

"You heard me Lieutenant, how well do you know Commander Lindsey?"

"I consider that a personal question sir…"

"It is not a personal question, it is a direct question and I expect a direct answer." Harm turned away from the window and looked at her sharply.

"Sir, I fail to see what, how well I know Commander Lindsey, has to do with my duties here at JAG Headquarters."

Harm knew right away that she was being evasive with him and as the seriousness of Harm's situation began to sink into his consciousness; his patience began to wear thin.

"Lieutenant Singer, you know my question has everything to do with JAG and nothing to do with your personal life. Answer the question." His voice was beginning to take on an edge.

"I have shared a few lunches with the Commander over the past couple of months, I am very interested in his work with the SecNav…other than that…"

"Lieutenant Singer, the Commander was given access to a number of personnel files of the staff here at JAG, including myself, my wife and even the Admiral. Are you telling me you don't know anything about that?"

"No sir" she lied. Her heart rate had doubled, but she gave no sign of distress. She continued to feign confusion at the questions being asked, all the while calculating, how long it would be until she occupied the office in which she now stood.

"You're telling me you have had no conversation with Commander Lindsey regarding any of the staff here at JAG, during the audit he just conducted?"

"I didn't say that sir, of course he asked questions and I answered them, honestly. Nothing out of the ordinary…but there was one conversation I have to say he was very fascinated with. He asked about an Agent Clayton Webb. Apparently he used to be a fixture around here."

Harm turned more fully toward her, totally taken in by her lie.

"Anyway, I told him about a story that Bud told me, about the book you and Colonel Rabb found, something about how it helped you find your long lost father."

Singer shook her head. "I told Commander Lindsey I thought it was just a tall tale that Commander Roberts was telling me, you know, just because I was relatively new here at Jag." She could see the realization dawn on Commander Rabb. He was putting it together and he was going to blame Lieutenant Roberts. This was just too delicious.

"I'm sure it's nothing, sir." Singer's tone of voice dripped fake reassurance.

"That will be all, Lieutenant." What had Bud done? He couldn't believe he would be so foolish as to repeat something so personally damning to himself and to Mac. The Roberts were like family, two of their oldest and dearest friends.

Lieutenant Singer came to attention and left Harm's office. She exhaled as she fairly glided across the bullpen and out into the hallway to her office. This had been the most productive day she had ever had at JAG. It was just a matter of time now. She could not keep the evil smile from spreading across her face as she thought, 'Merry Christmas Loren.'

Harm, for his part stood in his office looking out the window at nothing in particular. He turned and looked at the folded newspaper Lindsey had left for him. He walked over to the chair behind his desk and sat down, heavily. He reached for the paper and opened it to the headline again. He shook his head in disbelief as he read, one lie after another, his heart feeling like a rock in his chest. This could not be happening; they were even saying his father had another son, living in Russia. It was too ridiculous.

Then he read the last paragraph and though it wouldn't be the worst that would happen in the wake of these unfounded accusations, the words. 'The governing board of the National Vietnam Veterans Organization, when its spokesman was asked for comment on the matter, has stated that should the charges against Lieutenant Harmon Rabb Sr. prove to be true, that they would fund the removal of Lieutenant Rabb's name from the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C.'

Harm folded the paper back roughly and opened his brief case and threw it in. He closed the briefcase and turning his desk lamp off, he started for his door. As he closed it he turned to see Bud leaving his office, as well. He had thought he was alone at JAG Ops and that everyone had left for the day.

Bud smiled and greeted him, "Hello sir, I didn't know you were here."

Harm looked at him steadily, wondering what Bud could have been thinking, how his momentary lapse of judgment, was going to cost them all.

When Harm didn't answer, Bud asked, "Sir? Is everything alright?"

"No Bud…everything is not alright." Harm kept his tone of voice even.

"I don't understand, sir."

"No you don't." Harm took one step toward him. "Do you know what you done? How could you tell that self serving little climber about how I found my father?" Harm walked away from him, not trusting himself to stay in the same room with him. What Bud had done had not been deliberate, but it had been stupid….so stupid.

As he walked toward the elevators, Bud followed him, totally dumbfounded by Harm's revelation. "Sir, what happened? Is it the audit?"

"No Bud, it's not the audit. It's Lieutenant Singer and Commander Lindsey." He stepped inside the elevator and as the door closed with Bud on the outside, Harm turned and said. "You've ruined us, Bud. You've ruined us all."

Bud stood in front of the elevators, trying to understand the cryptic language of his mentor. What had he done? He couldn't think of anything he had told Lieutenant Singer or Commander Lindsey that could hurt the Commander or anyone else at JAG.

He walked back to his office in a daze; he locked up his office and closed his door. He picked up his cover and briefcase and as he approached the elevators, he remembered the conversation he had months ago with Lieutenant Singer. She had spoken so admiringly of the Commander; he had only meant to speak to the depth of the Commander's character. 'My God,' he thought, 'what have I done?' He had told her about Agent Webb and what he had learned about how the Commander found his father, he couldn't believe he had been so careless, he had hurt him and in the worst way.

1945

December 24, 2004

Rabb Residence

Alexandria, Virginia

Harm drove back to his home in Alexandria on autopilot, he had tried to reach the Admiral on his cell but was transferred directly to his voice mail. After he arrived at his house, as he approached his front door; he stopped, turned and looked back at his van. He couldn't remember for the life of him how he got home.

He used his keys to open the door and stood in the foyer, looking around his unusually quiet house. He looked at Little Jack's trail of toys out of the den and into the hallway and at the, too large for the room, Christmas tree, lovingly decorated by Mac, as always.

Harm suddenly thought of Zara and her temperature and went quickly up the stairs. He slipped into her bedroom, where she lay covered with a pink down comforter. She looked at him with sleepy eyes that sparkled with love and admiration when she saw him. "Daddy!" Her voice sounded scratchy and so small, and her face was pale, framed in her rich brown curls. Zara' cold was something that wouldn't have fazed Harm at all, had his world not just been turned upside down. Now the thought that his daughter was sick, even a mild cold, seemed devastating.

"Hey," He walked over to her bedside and sat down. "Mommy says you aren't feeling well." He brushed a stray curl back from her face.

She sat up and reached for her father and he gathered her in to his arms. "Mommy says I have a tenchipur." She sounded muffled as said it against his chest

"You mean a temperature?" Harm smiled sadly, pressing his lips to her, too warm, brow.

"Yes…tenn..chi..pur." She nodded the affirmative. "Look what I made, Daddy. I made you a present." She slipped out of his arms and reached for a small Christmas tree made of green construction paper and too much glitter. She placed it in his pocket, its glitter falling off and covering the inside and outside of his uniform jacket. Harm thought for a moment that he would have to have it cleaned, but then he thought it didn't really matter now, did it?

"Thank you, sweetie."

"Do you like it Daddy?" She looked up at him, questioning.

"Yes, it's very nice, but you have to lie back down now, so that you'll feel better in the morning, okay?"

Zara lay back and Harm tucked her back in as she burrowed further under the covers. He kissed her brow and she smiled at him. The love and trust so apparent on her face that Harm nearly lost his composure. He bade her goodnight and looked back at her before he left the room, wondering, what would he do now, how could he protect her from this? How could he protect any of them now?

Harm left the room and walked back downstairs, he walked into the den, still strewn with toys and sat down heavily on the couch. Just then Little Jack discovered that his father was home. "Daddy!" He ran to his father and jumped into his arms. "Daddy!"

"Hey," was all Harm could manage as his son threw his little arms around his neck.

"Hey, I fly Daddy, I fly!" Harm's son bounced on his lap, pulling on the lapels of his jacket, with PB and J covered hands.

Harm looked at his son suddenly, thinking of his son flying for the Navy, as he had, as his father had and his grandfather. What would his heritage be now? Shame? He looked down at his uniform and saw the peanut butter and jelly smears on his lapels and a smudge on his white shirt. Harm was suddenly unreasonably angry, and reacted without thinking.

"Jack! What are you doing? No!" He pulled Jack back and away from him and set him firmly on the floor. Harm stood and stepped angrily away from him. He seldom ever raised his voice to his children. All they ever required was a stern look from Harm and he had their full attention. This was a side of his father that Little Jack had never seen.

Little Jack drew in a breath sharply in shock; he looked at his fathers angry face and burst into tears. Mac walked into the den just as Little Jack began to cry.

"Harm, what is it? What have you done?" Mac reached for her son and stood looking at him, incredulous.

Harm walked to other side of the room. What was he doing? He looked back at his son, now in his beautiful mother's arms with tears streaming down his face. Harm's face twisted in pain before he turned back toward the window and his covered his face with his hands. He had ruined all their lives in his quest to find his father, it wasn't Bud's fault, it was his, Mac would curse the day she ever met him.

"Harm…what's happened?" She had never seen him so troubled.

Just then, the door bell rang. It was Jen arriving to baby-sit for Zara. As Mac answered the door, Harm remembered what they were supposed to do tonight. They were to celebrate Christmas with their friends, the Roberts's. The Admiral would be there, Sturgis, Varise, everyone. He couldn't bear it; he had to get out of here. He turned and walked toward the door. He had to get out of here. They would all know soon enough, what having been a friend of Harmon Rabb Jr. could cost them.

He brushed past Mac as she was handing Little Jack over to Jen. He glanced at her. "We don't really need a sitter tonight Jen, and if you know what's good for you, you'll get the hell away from here, it could cost you your career."

Mac stepped away from a very confused Jen, who was holding a still sniffling toddler. "Harm…Tell me what's wrong." She followed him out the door; he walked out to his van without a backward look. "Harm…please tell me what happened."

Harm stopped before he got into this vehicle and looked back at her. "You should never have married me Mac."

"What? Harm…stop, please, what are you talking about.." Mac crossed their porch and walked down the steps, folding her arms across her chest to keep fend off the cold. She tried to hurry to him before he had a chance to leave, but he pulled out of the drive way, before she was near enough for him to hear her.

Mac stood in their driveway looking out on a cold and icy night that 15 minutes ago, looked to be full of warmth Christmas magic, but now, appeared only to be full of darkness and foreboding. Something was wrong, something was terribly wrong. She had never in her life seen Harm act this way.

Harm could see Mac standing in the light of his headlights as he backed out of the drive. She was standing there, the winter wind blowing her hair back from her face, her red dress, one he had picked out himself for this occasion, draped beautifully on her body. He turned and backed out onto the street. He heart was breaking with regret, why had he allowed her to go with him to Russia? It could cost her career and her freedom, and it would cost his children, their mother.

TBC

A/N: I changed the amount of money on the aircraft equipment that Harm had burned through because I left a couple of crashes out of this story.(grin)


	7. Chapter 7

'It's a Wonderful Life' at JAG

Chapter 7

Disclaimers: I don't own any of the JAG characters. I don't own any product or label mentioned for the purposes of telling this story. I don't own the rights to the story or the movie, 'It's a Wonderful Life.' Any similarities to situations or persons living or dead are purely coincidental.

Spoilers: The movie 'It's a Wonderful Life' Any JAG episode up to and through Season 10. A secondary character from the episode 'All Ye Faithful' will enter and exit in the same scene. He isn't specifically named in that episode or in this story, only his title will be used for purposes of identification.

A/N: You may notice that I took a familiar name and created a character….to suit my own evil purposes. (Grin)

Rating K

2246

Christmas Eve, 2004

Benzigers Bar

Harm sat at the bar, unaware of just how many drinks he had so far. The more he tried to think his way out of the predicament he was in, the deeper he seemed to fall into despair. He kept hearing the sarcasm and condescension in Commander Lindsey's voice, and seeing his sneering face. Harm had always taken a great deal of comfort in his fathers honor and reputation with his peers. Now his and his father's service would forever be associated with betrayal and treason. His heritage was being destroyed before his eyes and there was nothing he could do about it. He thought of his son, seeing him in his minds eye. Little Jack standing there beside the couch, with tears welling in his eyes as he looked at him. The fear and confusion in his expression, Harm would never forget. It pained him to think that his own son had been afraid of him. Harm shook his head, trying to clear the heart rending vision from his mind.

The thought occurred to him to do something he hadn't done since he was very young. He prayed. 'God…I'm not a praying man, but please…help me, I don't know what to do.'

Joanna, the woman tending bar tonight, was familiar with Commander Rabb and his wife. She had been a witness to many of the Rabb's and their colleagues' celebrations here at the bar. Benzigers had been the place to gather to celebrate promotions, weddings, even farewell parties were held here, when someone transferred out of JAG. She had never seen the Commander in such a state. She had been watching him since he arrived over 2 hours ago.

Joanna had always been a person who minded her own business, but now, she was about to make an exception. Her boss and owner of the bar, Ed Benziger considered the Commander a good and honorable man. Commander Rabb was one of the reasons he owned this bar.

Ed Benziger was a retired Senior Chief, and Ed had told Joanna how the Commander had defended him, when he had been wrongly accused of theft of government property. The incident occurred just before his retirement, 5 years ago. The Commander's thorough investigation revealed that Benziger was being set up by his CO, who was later prosecuted for the crime. The accusations could have lost Benziger his pension and his VA benefits, not to mention the possibility of doing time in Leavenworth. His VA benefits had allowed him to get the loan for his business, a business that had turned his life around.

Joanna decided it was time to talk to her boss. Maybe he could talk to the Commander, and convince him to go home. She knew the Commander was a family man. What could he be doing out on Christmas Eve night...alone?

Just minutes later Ed Benziger walked behind the bar and positioned his stocky frame before Commander Rabb. He removed the cigar from the corner of his mouth, and tried to get the Commander to tell him what the matter was.

"Commander Rabb…sir. It's getting late..."

Harm looked up from his drink, his eyes glazed and half closed. "Hey, Senior, how ya doing?"

"I'm fine, but if you don't mind my saying so Commander, you don't look so hot." He then noticed the Commanders rumpled uniform, the smears on the lapels of his jacket and shirt.

Harm's eyes followed Benzigers gaze and what he saw, made his face burn with shame, when he thought of Little Jack.. He cleared his throat and answered, "My son…got a little carried away."

"Commander Rabb, sir, it's getting kinda late… I'd be happy to call your wife so that she could come and get you. I don't think you should be driving anywhere tonight."

A man on the other side of the bar heard the name 'Rabb' and raised his head. He recognized Commander Rabb immediately. The man stood and walked over to where Harm was seated at the bar.

"Commander Rabb." The man's tone was sharp.

Harm turned and looked at him, trying to recall who this man was.

"You don't know who I am, do you?"

"No, I'm sorry, I don't." Who ever he was, the man looked to have a huge chip on his shoulder, and suddenly that was just fine with Harm. He wanted to hit something; this guy's face was just the target he needed.

"I was the CAG aboard the Coral Sea, two years ago, at one of the times you decided to play naval aviator."

Harm recognized the man's face now, but he could not recall his name. The man looked angry, as angry as he had been the last time he saw him. He couldn't understand why the man resented him so much, he barely knew the man, and outside that brief contact, Harm had never seen him before in his life. The CAG's words to him came back to him as clearly as if he had just spoken them: _"I won't allow you to undermine a perfectly valid level of resentment with me…."_

"Yes, I remember now, it was Christmas Eve." Looking at him now, Harm wondered why he had ever given damn whether the CAG had liked him or not.

"Yeah, that's right, and I told you that if you did anything other than take that aircraft to its appointed destination that I would see that you had your wings yanked. Does that ring a bell, Commander?"

Harm was beginning to sober up, fast. He had already had all he could take tonight; he wasn't sure he could be civil, even if this man outranked him.

"Yes I remember, sir." Harm's lips tightened into a thin line.

"You don't have to 'sir' me Rabb, I'm retired. I was 'asked' to retire, after I filed a complaint against you. It seems that you have too many friends in high places and those friends decided, that if all I was concerned with was yanking the wings of a part time aviator, that maybe I needed to find another way to make a living."

"I'm sorry to hear that." He was not, the man was an ass. His lack of sincerity was apparent to the former CAG and Ed Benziger.

"Like hell you are, and to top it off, I read in the Navy Times that you got another DFC last year. I bust my ass out in the fleet and in the air for 25 years and you have more decorations than I do."

Ed Benziger could see where this was going as soon as the Commander started to stand. He was about to see the Commander get himself in more trouble. Benziger was not going to allow the Commander to get himself slapped with an assault charge.

He got between the Commander and the former CAG and with his back to Harm, he pointed toward the door. "It's time to go, buddy. If it's a fight you want, you're not going to find it here."

The man looked disgusted, "I'll leave when I'm ready…Senior." The retired officer decided to try to pull rank.

Harm's eyes narrowed and the anger rose in him too quickly for him to get it under control. "I thought you said you were retired."

"That's right." The man was glaring at Harm, his expression daring him to take a step closer.

Harm put his hand on Benzigers shoulder, his eyes never leaving the former CAG, "Then don't worry about it Ed, this man has no authority over you." Harm started to step around the bar's proprietor.

"Go home, Mister." Benziger stepped again between the two men and continued to try to get the trouble maker to leave.

The title 'mister' enraged the former CAG and he shoved Benziger into Harm. "I said… I'm not ready to leave."

Harm's temper flared, and he swung at Benzigers attacker but the number of drinks he had that night had caused his reactions to slow. Harm was instead hit hard on his chin and at the side of his mouth.

The former CAG knew that he had gone too far when Harm fell backward. He threw the money to pay his tab and left the bar immediately.

"Get out of here, before I call the cops." Ed Benziger had turned and knelt down, trying to help the Commander.

"I'm alright, Ed. Don't worry about it. I just got a fat lip in an answer to a prayer." He wiped the blood from the side of his mouth.

"Let me call you cab, sir. You're in no shape to drive anywhere tonight."

Harm threw some cash on the bar to pay his tab and turned to leave.

"Let me call Colonel. Rabb sir." Benziger knew that Commander Rabb's wife would want to know where he was on a night like tonight.

Harm turned quickly back toward him, nearly losing his balance. "No!" Then realizing how loud he had been, he repeated his answer. "No, don't. I'll be fine." He turned back toward the door and under his breath he said, "She's better off without me, anyway."

Ed had heard the Commander and knew he had better call Colonel Rabb for sure now.

Harm walked unsteadily out the door and to his van. It had begun to snow heavily and thankfully, traffic was light, this Christmas Eve.

Ed Benziger sat at his desk in his makeshift office behind his bar. He had just called Colonel Rabb but still felt there was more he should have done. Commander or not, he should have made Commander Rabb stay, until his wife came to pick him up. He had closed and locked the door to the tiny room. He turned off the overhead light, leaving just the light on his desk to illuminate the room. Rubbing his work worn hands together and then finally clasping them, he awkwardly bowed his head, nodding and squeezing his eyes shut tightly. "Uh…God, I uh…I know I don't pray, but it's not for me. I'm …it's about Commander Rabb. Someone who helped me…I mean…. He's in trouble; I don't know….Help him God. Help my friend Harmon Rabb."

_**Across town in Arlington….**_

Patricia Rabb Burnett stood and walked over to the television and turned it off. The television anchorperson seemed to be gleefully telling of some type of problem with the Judge Advocate Generals office. She had no details but said there was news forthcoming of a scandal the likes of which Washington had never seen. The young woman had to gall to laugh and say 'who says the holidays are a slow news cycle. Stay tuned.' Trish couldn't listen anymore. She dialed Harm's cell phone and got no answer. She called him at home and Mac answered the phone. "Mac, honey, its Trish. Is Harmon at home?"

"No, Trish I'm sorry. I've been trying to get him on the phone all evening; he left a couple of hours ago. Ed Benziger called a few minutes ago and apparently he's been there most of the evening, but wouldn't allow Ed to call me before he left. Something is wrong, I don't know what it is, and he wouldn't tell me." Mac tried to keep the tears out of her voice.

"Have you been watching ZNN?"

Mac looked across the living room to the television. "No"

She walked over to the set and turned it on. There was a woman speaking into a microphone standing in front of JAG headquarters. "I've got it."

"Do you know what's going on?"

"No, and Harm didn't say anything. I just know he was very upset, not acting like himself at all." Mac didn't want to have to explain that they had argued and he left without giving her any indication of what was going on or where he was going.

"Listen, Trish, let me call you back; I want to try to reach Admiral Chegwidden. He might be able to shed some light on what is going on."

"Keep me posted Mac."

"Will do. I'm sorry I can't tell you more, I'll call as soon as I know anything."

They ended the call, each woman feeling ill at ease about Harmon Rabb Jr. and feeling totally helpless to do anything about it.

Trish walked to her living room window and watched the Christmas Eve snow swirling down onto the ground. She closed her eyes and prayed silently for her son, knowing that this was all she could do now.

After Mac replaced the handset onto the phone, she stood with her arms folded in front of her chest watching the reporter on television.

The reporter stated that 'sources' at the Pentagon had said that certain facts, facts that had been classified for a very long time, were about to come to light. These facts would expose a possible espionage ring that had been in place since the late sixties, a part of which was believed to be operating out of the Judge Advocate Generals Office.

Mac placed her hand over her mouth, what could this possibly have to do with Harm? She picked up her phone and dialed the Admiral's home number. There was no answer. She tried his cell phone and was immediately transferred to voice mail.

Mac automatically walked up the stairs to check on her daughter. She walked into her bedroom and stood beside her bed. She leaned down and placed her hand on her daughter's brow, now cooler than it had been 2 hours ago. Zara stirred, but she did not appear to wake.

She straightened and stepped back from her daughter's bed. As she stepped away, she prayed in a whisper.

"Oh God, please…please help Harm. I don't know what to do. Tell me what to do." She turned, looking one more time at her daughter, as she closed the door to her bedroom. As Mac was closing the door, she didn't notice the little girl, rolling onto her back and clasping her hands together. When the door was completely closed Zara spoke sincerely to a Power she talked with often, in her innocent and uncluttered mind.

"Dear God, please help my daddy… something's wrong." Zara spoke aloud in the quiet room.

After Mac looked in on Little Jack she walked down the steps to the foyer, As she did, she noticed Harm's briefcase, sitting in the foyer near the hall tree. She went to it and picked it up and placed it on a small table, in the entry way. She opened it and a newspaper nearly fell out and on to the floor. Mac picked it up and opened it. It was a copy of the Washington Globe, dated December 26th, 2004. Mac frowned, and then her eyes were immediately drawn to the picture, the headline above it and the caption beneath it.

Mac walked slowly into the den as she read the article. She stepped over to the couch and sat down, leaning forward, bringing the paper more closely to her face, her eyes locked onto the page, straining, as though she were trying to make herself believe what she was reading.

Mac lifted her head when she finished the article. Her heart rate quickening, now it all made sense. Somehow, she had known this had to do with Commander Lindsey, Harm had told her about his audit and his not so subtle jibes at Harm and herself. No wonder Harm was in such a state. She picked up the phone on the end table and dialed Jennifer Coates phone number.

"Jen? This is Mac, I'm sorry to call so late, but I need your help. Can you come back and stay with Little Jack and Zara." Mac's voice broke with her last word.

"Is something wrong ma'am."

"Yes, Jen and I have to get in touch with some people, quickly." Mac cleared her throat, reining in her emotions, knowing she had to think now; her family's future depended on it.

"I've been watching ZNN ma'am. If I can ask, does it have to do with that?"

"I think so. I really can't talk about it. Not yet. Can you come right away?"

"I understand ma'am, and of course, I'll be right there."

"Thanks."

In less than a half an hour Jen had gotten back to the Rabb's house and Mac was on her way out of their drive. As she pulled away from her home, the advance copy of the Washington Globe along with her; she took out her cell phone and called a friend who had never failed either of them. Everyone seemed to be unreachable tonight, but somehow, she knew that this friend would not be.

2310

Christmas Eve

Theodore Roosevelt Bridge

Washington D.C.

Harm stood on the bridge, watching the current of the river swiftly moving beneath him. He had nearly killed himself just minutes ago… and who ever was driving the vehicle he had pulled out in front of. The near miss had shaken Harm so badly that he had immediately pulled over and gotten out of his van. How could he have been so stupid, he thought, he'd already ruined enough lives, he didn't want to be responsible for the destruction of anymore. Prior to his near accident, he was on his way to the Wall, so he left his van and began walking and some how, had ended up here on this bridge, instead.

There was still a light snow falling and it was quiet around the bridge, he heard nothing but the sound of the rushing water of the river beneath him. He turned and looked back at the city. He could see the Lincoln Memorial and the Jefferson Memorial just beyond. The lights that lined the walk in front of the Wall could be seen from where he stood. Lights from Christmas decorations scattered from one end of the Capital to the other contrasted with the white lights of the streets and traffic.

Life was going on around him, but at this moment, he felt entirely separate from the world. He turned again and looked down at the river, the thought ran through his mind, fleetingly, that it would be so easy for someone to just step off and never be heard from again.

Harm shook his head, dismissing the thought, berating himself for even thinking it. He could never leave Mac to face this alone, but at this moment, he had no hope, nothing to give her in this situation. The knowledge of that hurt him as badly as anything else that Lindsey was throwing at him.

Mac had always told him that one of the reasons that she loved him was because he never gave up. He never had, but now, for the first time in his life, he didn't think he could go on. He didn't seem to be able to reach that place within himself that would enable him to fight against the injustice of what Lindsey was about to do to them. He felt completely powerless to change what was going to happen. He bowed his head, the weight of the situation, paining him to his heart.

Harm turned away from the water and looked toward the other side of the bridge and suddenly he felt, rather than saw, something rush closely past him and over the railing of the bridge. It seemed to come from above him, but he had seen nothing. He heard a loud splash and he turned back again to see a man struggling in the swift current of the river.

"Help!" Lieutenant Clarence called, the water from the river choking him as he called, "I cant swim! Help me!"

Harm called back to him loudly, "Hang on, I'm coming!" He crossed the bridge and ran down the embankment, to try and catch the man before he was swept further downriver with the current. "Grab on to the branch, I'll pull you in!"

"Help!…Heeeelllpp!"

Harm looked down the embankment, to see the young man trying to grab hold of one of the branches that hung over the river. He called to the man, telling him not to panic. To hang on, that he would help him.

Harm inched down to the edge of the embankment and reached out, close enough to allow the man to take hold of his hand. Harm could see now that the man couldn't have been more than 18 years old.

"It's alright son, just grab on, I'll pull you in." Harm wanted to reassure him. The kid's eyes were huge, with fear.

When he reached for Harm's hand and clasped it, Harm pulled and as he got closer to the embankment, the young man seemed to pull harder on his hand, in what Harm thought was panic. "I've got you, its okay." He reassured him, but it was to no avail. The young man pulled harder on his hand and Harm fell, head first, into the river, sending his cover flying back onto the riverbank.

The icy water felt like a shock to his entire body as it swirled around him. Harm's head came up almost immediately, looking for the young man who was still calling for help. Harm's gazed followed the place where the sound was coming from, to see him holding onto the branch.

"Hang on!" Harm was yelling as loudly as he could. The sound of the water rushing around them, nearly drowned the sound of his voice. Harm was able to grab onto another tree branch, just a few feet down the river. Just as he pulled himself just far enough up to reach him, the young man lost his grip on his branch. Harm reached for him and caught him again, by his coat before the current pulled him out of Harm's reach.

He pulled the young man up to the branch he was holding on to and put him in front of him, guiding him closer to the riverbank. Making sure this time, the frightened young man didn't send them both back out into the rivers strong current. They were out of the water in moments, both soaking wet and shivering from the cold.

Harm walked over to where his cover had fallen and picked it up. He turned to look at the

shivering young man and asked. "What are you doing out here? You could have drowned."

"I know, but I didn't, because you saved me, you saved my life and you seemed to want to hold on to your own." Lieutenant Clarence was wearing a satisfied smile, thinking all the while that XO Gabriel would be impressed with the way he was able to show the Commander his true character, his habit of putting others before himself. The Commander was fighting for his own life, as well as trying to save his. This was working out just like Lieutenant Clarence had hoped, even when the Commander had lost his grip on him, he wouldn't give up. The old Harmon Rabb Jr. that he had begun to admire was still in there, Lieutenant Clarence thought, he just needed to find a way to bring him back out.

Harm looked at the man curiously, just now taking in the clothing he was wearing. He was wearing an oversized double breasted coat, apparently some kind of uniform, but of what service or country, Harm could not tell. Knee high boots, with his trousers tucked in and the cap? What was that? It looked like an old aviators cap.

"What is your name?" Maybe this guy escaped from the Psychiatric ward of the VA hospital, though the kid seemed a bit young for that.

Lieutenant Clarence stepped up to him and offered his hand. "Lieutenant George Clarence, angel, second class."

Harm's eyes narrowed and though he clasped the young man's hand, he took a small step backward. "What?"

"Just call me Lieutenant Clarence, I've been sent to tell you that you cannot throw away God's greatest gift. No matter what happens, you can't give up now."

Harm looked at him critically, trying to think of a way to get this kid back to whatever facility escaped from and out of the elements.

"I don't know what you're talking about…Lieutenant Clarence." Harm decided to humor this kid until he got him back where he belonged.

"I've been sent here, to help you, sir."

"To help me?" Harm couldn't help but see the irony. His help came to him in the form of a kid, half out of his mind, believing himself to be sent right out of heaven. He shook his head and turned and looked up the embankment, trying to figure out a way to climb back up to the bridge, without landing himself and this confused kid back down into the river. He said under his breath, "yeah, you look like the kind of guardian angel I'd get."

Lieutenant Clarence heard Harm's last comment. "Oh, I'm not an angel yet, Commander Rabb, I haven't got my wings."

Harm wheeled around and looked at him sharply. "What? How do you know my name?"

"I told you, I was sent here to help you, and if I do, I'll get my wings."

Harm didn't know who this kid was, but he was getting back up onto the bridge and they were going to catch a cab to Benzigers. Harm could call the hospital and find out if they were looking for this kid and they would get out of their wet clothes before the elements got the better of them both.

Harm was able to hail a cab, still not trusting himself to drive after his near miss earlier that evening.

Lieutenant Clarence looked over at Harm, both men still shivering from the cold, though not dripping wet as they had been before. "Thank you for pulling me out of the river, sir."

Harm looked at him and nodded an acknowledgement. "No problem."

"You're going to help me get my wings….aren't you sir?"

Harm frowned, what was this kid talking about? He wondered.

"Your wings?"

"Yes sir, you haven't given up completely have you, sir? You not going to throw your life away now are you?" The young man looked at him with wide eyes, full of hope.

"I wasn't going to throw my life away." Harm looked at the cabbie that had been watching them both rather curiously in his rearview mirror, since they entered his cab.

"You were thinking about it."

For reasons Harm didn't understand he truthfully admitted to the obviously confused young man, what he wouldn't admit aloud to anyone. "I don't want to kill myself…Lieutenant Clarence; I suppose it would be better if I had never been born."

Lieutenant Clarence thought for a long moment about what Commander Rabb had said. He spoke aloud. "What do you think XO?"

Without being heard by Commander Rabb, XO Gabriel quickly gave his approval. "Okay Commander Rabb. You were never born."

A gust of wind, seemingly from nowhere, blew into the enclosed cab and then utter silence followed. Harm and Lieutenant Clarence's clothes were immediately dry and they were no longer shivering with cold. The cabbie, having heard and witnessed everything that had been said and done, slammed his foot onto the brake, nearly throwing both Harm and Lieutenant Clarence into the front seat.

He turned and looked at both men. "Get out! I don't know who you are or what you are, but both of you; get the hell out of my cab!"

Harm and Lieutenant Clarence were out of the cab in minutes and the cabbie sped away, watching nervously as his former passengers stood stunned on the side walk.

"Alright Clarence, what just happened here?"

"You were never born, sir." Lieutenant Clarence stated, in a very 'matter of fact' manner.

Harm reached up and brushed the tips of his fingers on his lip, which just seconds ago was swollen and painful to touch. There was no blood, and no pain.

"I think I need something to drink." This night was getting more and more strange. He needed to go someplace familiar. Ever since he pulled this kid out of the river, everything felt off kilter.

Harm turned and looked at the street sign they were only a block away from Benzigers.

The air was a lot less cool now that Harm's clothes were dry, "Come on…. Clarence, lets walk down the street, a friend of mind owns the bar on the corner.

"I don't know…I'm not sure I should…"

"Come on," He could at least get them out of the cold, until he could find out where this kid came from. It was strange though, he wasn't really feeling the elements at all now.

They walked down the street and to Harm's surprise, the bar which occupied the corner where Benzigers should be, was called Joanna's.

TBC


	8. Chapter 8

'It's a Wonderful Life' at JAG

Chapter 8/9

Disclaimers: I don't own any of the JAG characters. I don't own any product or label mentioned for the purposes of telling this story. I don't own the rights to the movie or the story 'It's a Wonderful Life.' Any similarities to situations or persons living or dead are purely coincidental.

Spoilers: Anything from JAG, Seasons One through Ten is fair game. A character, which made only one appearance in 'To Russia With Love', will make an appearance toward the end of the chapter.

A/N: Just a reminder, once again that this is AU. Events from the movie and the episodes referred to on JAG will not occur exactly the same way, or have the same result.

A/N: Thank you to Karen for her excellent beta read.

Rating K+

2340

Christmas Eve

In Lieutenant Clarence's' Alternative Universe

Joanna's tavern

Harm sat down at the bar with Lieutenant Clarence. He was relieved to see Joanna still tending bar, maybe the world hadn't turned upside down completely. Harm hadn't noticed the difference in his surroundings, the bar was dark and smoky, and it also had a back wall covered with slot machines. Joanna stood before him and Harm ordered, "Double bourbon, Joanna."

Joanna blanched, surprised and slightly irritated that this man called her by her first name, she was the proprietor here, not just the bar tender. She looked at his companion. "I think I need to see some ID, you look a little young"

"Just give him a Coke, he's underage." Harm answered quickly, so that this kid didn't start on his story about angels, wings or what ever it was he thought he was supposed to be doing.

Harm figured, he'd have a drink, try to figure out what to do with this kid and then get back home, though he still dreaded the thought. After all that had happened, he didn't think he could face his family tonight.

Lieutenant Clarence grinned from ear to ear. "Coca-Cola?"

Joanna gave him a sarcastic smile. "Yeah…. the real thing."

"Wonderful, thank you ma'am" This was treat he didn't get often.

Joanna turned to get their drinks and frowned. "You're welcome." She shook her head slightly and wondered who these people were.

Joanna turned again and placed Harm's drink in front of him, then placed a glass with ice and a canned Coke in front of Lieutenant Clarence.

Lieutenant Clarence looked at it curiously; he picked it up and turned it in his hand. He had seen Coca-Cola in bottles, but never in a can. He wasn't sure how to open it.

Harm sensed his confusion and so before the young man drew any more attention; he took the can from him and opened it, pouring the Coke into the glass.

Lieutenant Clarence heard the sound from one of the slots on the back wall of the bar, a bell was sounding, announcing another 'winner'. "Someone just made it."

"What?"

"Haven't you ever heard? Every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings."

Joanna stood watching and listening from the other end of the bar. There was something wrong with this kid, and who was this Navy guy he was hanging around with, anyway? She took in the young mans clothing and demeanor, thinking, that if this officer was worth anything he'd get this kid some help. He obviously wasn't 'right.'

Both men were finishing their drinks when Joanna walked up to them, turning her attention toward Harm. "I want to ask you a question, how do you know my name."

"Excuse me?"

Joanna looked angry, and what kind of question was that?

"You heard me, how do you know my name?"

"I've known you for years, Joanna; I've been coming here since Ed opened the bar, almost 5 years ago."

"Ed? You mean Ed Benziger?"

"Yeah, you know Senior Chief Benziger."

Lieutenant Clarence chimed in, "Ed doesn't own this bar, you weren't there to defend him and he lost his rank and his retirement."

Joanna looked at him sharply, this kid was getting on her nerves, how did he know this?

"Ed sweeps up here, he doesn't own anything in this place, and this bar belongs to me. He did three years in Leavenworth. He's lucky I let him near this place. He drinks up everything he makes."

Lieutenant Clarence piped in again. "I told you Commander, you were never born."

Joanna had had enough of this kid. "Who the hell are you, kid? You need to be at home with your mom and dad, how old are you, anyway?"

Harm decided it was time to get the hell out of there, this situation was deteriorating fast. They were both about to end up in the drunk tank, or worse yet, the mental ward; this kid didn't shut his mouth. "Come on, Clarence, its time to go."

Lieutenant Clarence stood and innocently answered Joanna, "I'm about a hundred and four, since my birthday, last September."

"Alright, that's it, both of you get out of here. Ed! Help me show these, 'gentlemen' to the door."

Ed Benziger came from the back of the bar. He was still a strong looking man, but his face was haggard. Harm barely recognized him.

"Ed?"

His head snapped up at the sound of his name. He took in the man in uniform and his countenance changed immediately. "Who the hell are you?"

"Don't you know me, Ed?"

"Hell no… I don't know you, I'm not personally acquainted with any 'officer and gentleman' presently serving in the Navy. One officer framed me for theft of government property, and another stupid sea lawyer, hammered the nails in the coffin on my career with his half ass defense. Twenty-five years of service, down the drain."

Harm and Lieutenant Clarence were walking backward, quickly toward the door. Harm was still stunned by what he was hearing. Benziger was closing the distance between them, and they turned and nearly ran out the door.

Ed leaned out of the doorway and threatened, "Don't ever come back here again, whoever the hell you are."

Harm and his companion were nearly a block down the sidewalk when Harm stopped and looked at him. "What is going on here?"

"I've been telling you Commander, you have never been born."

"Knock it off Clarence, I don't know who you are, or where you're from but you're not screwing around with my life anymore. I'm going home; I suggest you do the same."

"Home….what home?"

Harm turned and walked away from him, hailing a cab that was just turning the corner.

He got in and gave the cabbie his address in Arlington, in just few moments the taxi pulled in front of a house under construction, the plastic covering the rafters, blowing in the winter wind. Harm looked at the address painted on the curb, recognizing it has his house number but there was no house.

"Where is my house? This is where I live…but that's not my house." He asked the cabbie with panic rising in his voice. A voice he was beginning not to recognize as his own. His whole life was slipping away from him, and nothing made sense.

The cabbie looked at him, not sure whether to call the police, or the shore patrol. "Sir, these homes are under construction. No one lives here…"

"I live here, I work at JAG, My wife and I had this house built after our son was born, we've lived in it for a year." Harm got out of the cab and ran to the house, looking for something familiar, something that told him this was his home. Unreasonably… he began to call for his kids, his wife, someone, to help him wake up from this nightmare.

The cabbie turned his headlights onto Harm as he ran into the building, toward the back of the lot. The cabbie decided that he had better call JAG; he didn't want to see this guy hauled into jail on Christmas Eve. He was in the Navy once upon a time; it was a tough world out there, and Sailors had to stick together.

Harm had covered every inch of the lot and the house when he turned to look toward the cab, still waiting. Lieutenant Clarence seemed to appear out of nowhere.

"Where is my family, where is my house?" Harm looked at him menacingly.

"You have no family Commander, you have no home." Lieutenant Clarence's demeanor was calm, this plan was working like a charm and they were far from finished. He watched as Harm reached into this the pocket of his jacket, searching for Zara's Christmas gift to him.

"It's not there."

Harm stopped and looked at him sharply. "What?"

"Zara's Christmas tree, the one she made you, its not there."

Harm took a step toward him, "Look, I don't know how you're doing this, but I'm leaving, I'm going home to my family."

"There is no wife, there are no children, I told you, sir. You were never born."

"Stop it; I told you, I've had enough of you. You're out of your mind and you're trying to mess with mine." Harm started to push past him when he heard the cabbie and another man running up the graveled drive of the unfinished home.

As the men came closer, he recognized one of them. "Gunny…., thank God," He pointed at Lieutenant Clarence. "You need to get this kid to a mental hospital or something, I pulled him out of the river He thinks he's some kind of angel…"

Gunny held up his hands. "It's okay, sir….we'll take you back to the hospital."

"Back to the hospital? Take me back to JAG, I'll call Mac from there, I shouldn't have had anything to drink tonight. I need to talk to her…" He sounded crazy, even to himself.

Gunny looked at him frowning. "JAG, sir?"

"Yes, Gunny….JAG. Get me back to JAG." He reached into his jacket to get his wallet. A look of panic was forming on his face when he saw that he couldn't find it, he checked the other pocket, franticly searching for evidence of his own existence.

Lieutenant Clarence spoke again. "You have no military ID, no driver's license. There is no Harmon Rabb Jr. at JAG Headquarters."

Gunny was still trying to calm him, as he reached to get hold of his arm. "Come with me, sir."

Now Harm understood, Gunny really didn't know him. "Keep your hands off me. I'm going back to JAG, I have to find Mac." Harm's eyes were wild, his breath coming in short gasps.

Gunny took hold of one of his arms and then the other. Harm pulled forcefully away from his grasp. "Let go of me!"

As Gunny tried to subdue Harm, Lieutenant Clarence put himself between them. "Run Commander!" Harm saw his opportunity and ran.

As he left the lot running as fast as his legs would carry him, he heard Lieutenant Clarence, yelling for help at the top of his lungs, pleading….with someone named…XO Gabriel?

What Harm didn't see was that XO Gabriel had delivered poor Lieutenant Clarence from the Gunny, much to his consternation and confusion. He had, right before Gunny's eyes, disappeared into thin air.

Harm had to get away from here, away from this kid, who seemed to double the chaos he already had in his life.

His mother lived just two blocks away; he would go and see her. She would help him make sense of all of this, she could call Mac and tell her to come and get him. Whatever was happening, they'd face it, together.

He walked up to the two story colonial that he and Mac had helped his mother and Frank pick out. He rang the door bell and a man he did not recognize answered the door.

The man looked at him curiously. "Yes."

"Is this Burnett's residence?" He already knew it was not, she wasn't here.

"This is Williams's residence." He could smell the bourbon on Harm's breath.  
"You've got the wrong house…go home and sleep it off."

Harm turned without a word and made his way down the walk to the street. He looked up at the house, the house number plain to see on the columns of the porch. He shook his head, trying to clear it and trying to get a grasp on what was happening here. His world was turned completely upside down. There had to be some reasonable explanation.

"Your mother never came to Washington DC; she had no son or daughter in law to help with their children. In fact, your mother never remarried. She moved into her parent's home, where she now lives…alone. There was no reason to remarry, there was no son to raise and provide a stable home for." Lieutenant Clarence had materialized right in front of him. Harm thought he really must be losing his mind.

Harm began to walk…and Clarence followed him. There had to be a way to think his way out of this. "The last person I talked to before this whole thing began was Ed Benziger. I'll go back and try to talk to him again."

"I don't think that's a good idea."

"He just lives a few blocks from here, not far from Arlington Cemetery."

Minutes later, Harm was walking through the cemetery. He had decided to walk through it instead of around it. As he walked along one of many winding paths through the grounds, he saw in his peripheral vision, a name on a tombstone that caught his eye. KEETER

Harm walked to it and kneeling before it, brushed the snow away from it. It read: Lt. Cmdr, John Henry Keeter, USN Born July 23, 1963 Died November 24 1998.

Harm turned to look at Lieutenant Clarence. "Jack Keeter isn't dead. He's flown more missions, covert and otherwise, and saved more lives than most aviators have ever dreamed of."

"He died in the Dasht E Kavir Desert in Iran in 1998. His career and his ability to save anyone was cut short because you weren't there to save him."

Harm stood there speechless, the gravity of what was happening, just beginning to register.

"One life touches so many others. Yours, in more way than you could ever imagine. You have been instrumental in saving the lives of people you've never met. You have been given a great gift Commander Rabb. A chance to see the world as it would be if you had never been born."

Lieutenant Clarence walked further into the cemetery.

Harm asked, "Where are you going? Benziger lives a few blocks on the other side of the cemetery."

"Come with me, there is something else you should see."

Harm looked at him warily, but followed.

In a few moments they were standing before a monument with the standard white stones lined up in neat columns behind it. He read the inscription on the brass plate. "In memory of the 4837, sailors and marines serving in the USS Seahawk Battle group, who perished in the Persian Gulf. 21, May, 2002"

Harm walked around the monument, and though his mind was still reeling, he was beginning to believe him now.

Lieutenant Clarence stepped further back into the cemetery. "There is another headstone, you have to see."

Harm didn't want to follow, but he did, understanding now this was something he had to see.

Lieutenant Clarence stopped before one of the white stones and as Harm neared it, he saw the name Lt. Harmon Rabb Sr. written, plainly. Below it, POW died, March 30, 1970.

'What is this?"

"Harmon Rabb Sr. died in a prison camp in North Vietnam as a result of wounds received when he went down, on Christmas Eve, 1969. The poor living conditions, near starvation and infection killed him, 3 months later."

"That's not true, my father survived, he was taken by a rogue KGB operation to Russia, he lived for at least another ten years, he was trying to come home…." No matter what Lindsey had printed in the Washington Globe, he knew his father, he knew how he had lived and died, just as he and Mac had discovered when Harm ended his search for him in Russia.

"Your father died in that prison camp in North Vietnam, because he didn't have you to come home to. He loved your mother, but they had no children. His will to live wasn't as strong, because you were never born. He had no son, waiting for him to come home, no one who needed him like you did."

Harm kept looking at the stone. "He still didn't come home, he was trying to get back to us…but they killed him."

"He left someone behind, someone you have never met."

"What are you talking about?" Harm already knew what he was going to say. It couldn't be true; his father couldn't have had a child in Russia.

"You have a brother, one you may someday meet. One who would never have been born, had your father not been taken to Russia."

"I don't believe this, this is insane." Harm turned away from him, his mind still unable to grasp it all. The anesthetic effect of any alcohol he had consumed was long gone, but in his shock and confusion, he nearly staggered away from his young companion.

He had to see Mac, if he saw her, he would be alright. "Lieutenant Clarence….where is she?" Mac loved him; she had for so long that Harm felt that she was an integral part of his own being. No matter what had taken place, she was his wife, she would know him.

Lieutenant Clarence was silent.

"You heard me Clarence, where is Mac?" Harm turned quickly around and stepped toward him.

"I'm not supposed to tell." Lieutenant Clarence was backing away.

Harm had lost all patience; he was tired of this stupid game. He grabbed him my both lapels. "Tell me were she is Clarence! Where is my wife?"

"You're not going to like it." The young angels apprentice cowered, truly afraid of the anger blazing in the Commanders eyes.

"Tell me, or I swear..." Harm was talking through gritted teeth.

"She's at McMurphy's…they're just getting ready to close up."

"McMurphy's?"

Harm felt true dread in the pit of his stomach. Mac couldn't be drinking, she would never…Harm couldn't even finish the thought.

He let go of Clarence and ran, he had to get to her. He hailed a cab and in just minutes, he was in front of McMurphy's, in Georgetown.

TBC


	9. Chapter 9

'It's a Wonderful Life' at JAG

Chapter 9/9

Disclaimers: I don't own any of the JAG characters. I don't own any product or label mentioned for the purposes of telling this story. I don't own the rights to the story or movie 'It's a Wonderful Life'. Any similarities to situations or persons living or dead are purely coincidental.

Spoilers: Any JAG episodes, Seasons 1 through 10 are fair game. The movie 'It's a Wonderful Life' on which this story is very loosely based. There will be a specific reference to the episode 'To Russia With Love.'

A/N: This is AU. Events that may have occurred on JAG or in the movie 'It's a Wonderful Life' will not occur exactly as they did originally, and will not necessarily have the same result. Some events, as you may have noticed, don't occur at all, aint it cool?

A/N: Many thanks to Karen for her beta read and encouraging words.

Rating K

Christmas Eve

McMurphy's

_**In Lieutenant Clarence's Universe…**_

Harm stood in front of McMurphy's. The place looked the same, maybe this would be one place where someone would know him. Maybe he would wake from this walking nightmare, here. Everything that had occurred up until now told him otherwise, but his need to see Mac made him unreasonable, he had to find her, to be whole.

He stepped into the bar saw a woman who might have been Mac, sitting alone facing the windows. She held a drink in her hands, she glanced at him over her shoulder, then Harm knew... it was her.

"Mac!" Harm was nearly running across the room.

Mac nearly dropped her drink as she turned toward him. Harm kept coming toward her and as he got closer she stood up. She was dressed in civilian clothing, her complexion sallow, and worse yet, her eyes, with dark circles underneath, held no light or recognition of him.

"Mac." Harm impulsively took her by both of her arms. "Mac" He wanted to pull her close, bury his face in her neck, hold on and never let go. "I need you."

Mac pushed him back with all the force she had. "Who the hell are you?"

"Mac…It's Harm, I'm your husband…don't you know me?" Harm's voice was pleading; he still couldn't believe that the center of his whole existence, would not know him. He tried to get close enough to touch her again.

"No, and if you ever put your hands on me again, I promise you, you'll always remember me." Mac took another step back from him, the look in her eyes and expression was hard, without a glimmer of compassion for Harm's confusion and fear, or need of her.

"But you're my wife. We both work at JAG. Please Mac, help me, I need you." He searched her face, looking for some spark of feeling for him, he could see nothing. "Where is Zara?" Surely she would remember their daughter.

"I'm not your wife, not in this life. I worked at JAG, but that was a long time ago, and I sure as hell don't remember working with you, or Zara, who ever the hell that is." She looked toward the bartender who had already called the police. "Don't you have a bouncer in this place? This idiot thinks he's my husband."

Harm turned back to see the bartender, who stood looking at him in disgust. "Look Buddy, Commander or who ever you are, the lady isn't interested. If you can't back off, you're going to have to leave."

A man, who had been sitting at the bar, turned and looked at him. Harm recognized the face of Bud Roberts immediately. Surely he would know him.

"Bud!"

The man flinched wondering who this nut case was. Harm walked quickly up to him. "You know me. I stood up for you at your wedding. Mac and I both were there."

"Stood up for me at my wedding? I don't know you and I have never been married." He looked back at Mac and shook his head as though agreeing with her that this man was off his rocker.

"You work with me at JAG; you have for over 8 years."

Bud got up from the bar stool, "I don't work at JAG, I'm a public affairs officer in the SecNavs office." He had tried law school, but had washed out, he was lucky he was able to go back to his former job, he wasn't sure what he'd have, if he weren't in the Navy. Bud thought he smelled the alcohol on his breath. "Maybe you better go home….sir." 'Great example for the Navy, he thought. This officer was drunk and half out of his mind, trying to force himself on some woman who doesn't know him from Adam. How the hell this guy ever made commander, was beyond him.

Harm turned, looking around the room at the people in the bar, no one there knew him and no one cared to know him. He was a stranger to them all, suddenly he was desperate. He looked toward the door; he had to find Lieutenant Clarence. Just as he started to walk toward the door, a familiar face appeared there; Gunny Galindez stepped inside the bar, and recognized him immediately, but probably as a possible escapee from a mental ward.

Gunny stopped and crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Well well, Commander…we meet again." The Gunny was wondering if this guy was a Commander at all, he probably stole the uniform… bought it from a surplus store.

Harm looked back a Mac, hoping she would help him but only saw her indifference to him. To her, he was a drunken stranger, someone who should be locked up and kept away from decent people. Harm could not allow Gunny to take him anywhere, he had to find Lieutenant Clarence, and he had to get his life back.

The Gunny walked toward him and Harm stood stock still, until he got within arms reach. Harm hit him, as hard as he could, under the chin, just as Gunny was reaching for his arm. He knocked him completely backward, leaving Gunny flat on his back.

Harm began to run for all he was worth, out of the bar and onto the street, he had to get back to that bridge, to the place he first saw the Lieutenant Clarence. Finding him was the only way back to his family.

Harm ran until his he thought his lungs would burst, when he was sure no one was still pursuing him, he hailed a cab to get back to the Jefferson Bridge.

Once he was there, he stood with his hands clasped together. He called out to Lieutenant Clarence, hoping somehow to reach him, though the only sounds he heard were the echoes of his own voice, and the rushing river beneath him.

"Clarence, Lieutenant Clarence….I want my life back, I don't care what happens to me, get me back to my wife and kids."

He prayed there was no one around to hear him, yelling at the top of his voice to no one, at least that no one that anyone could see. He was afraid he really would end up in a mental ward somewhere.

Suddenly a soft snow began to fall again and Harm heard a vehicle come to a stop on the road behind him. He turned around quickly, recognizing the Government Issue vehicle as one from JAG. He saw Gunny get out of the car and call to him. "Commander Rabb? Sir, you need to come with me."

Harm backed away from him. "Get away from me Gunny, get the hell away…I'm not letting you take me anywhere."

"Commander…sir? What's the matter, I've been looking everywhere for you. The Colonel has been calling all over the District." Gunny stepped in more closely. "Sir, your lip is bleeding."

Harm was stunned for a moment, he had mentioned the Colonel, he seemed to know him, could it be that he had finally awakened from this nightmare? "Gunny…do you know me?" Harm reached up and winced at the touch of his sore and bleeding lip.

"Do I know you? Commander…are you sure you're alright? I'm supposed to take you back to your house, the Colonel, Admiral Chegwidden…everyone is waiting."

He was back, thank God, he was back. Harm walked slowly toward him, he saw then that Gunny really did know him. Harm grabbed his arm and shook Gunny's hand as hard as he could. "Man, am I glad to see you. I'm fine, Gunny, I never felt better in my life." Suddenly Harm was laughing, way too loudly. "Lead on. I'm ready….I'm ready to go home."

Gunny got Harm back to his and Mac's home in short order, though he kept one eye on him most of the way home. The Commander seemed to be alternately laughing and crying all the way home.

"Are you sure you're alright, sir?"

"Yeah, Gunny I'm fine…. I'm…I'm going home." He'd wipe tears off of his face and laughed a bit at himself, only to have a fresh batch form in his eyes and course down his cheeks. He was past caring about how he must seem to Gunny or anyone watching him, he felt he'd already been given a reprieve from losing everything that he loved most in the world. His pride at the moment was not an issue.

Gunny pulled up in front the Rabb's house; the drive way was full of cars, more than one of which were government vehicles.

Harm was oblivious to anything except the sight of his own home before him. The red brick Colonial, with a white porch across the front, there was the tree in the front yard, he and Zara had planted the spring before. The wreath on the door, the lights from their tree clearly visible from where he stood. It was still here, his life was still here.

He slowly got out of the car and looked at the house he and Mac had built. It was real, just as he remembered it, no construction site and or empty lot. This was their home, the one they brought little Jack home to.

Gunny had parked on the street and warily watched, as the Commander walked up the middle of his snow covered yard. Gunny followed, though keeping his distance behind him.

Harm walked slowly and stopped at the center of his yard. As he read the house number on the house, it finally dawned on him; his family was there, his wife…his children. He broke into a run and took his front steps two at a time until he got to the door. He opened his door and walked into his house. All sound became an echo and it seemed Harm was moving in slow motion.

He called out for Mac and he saw her enter the hallway from the back of the house. He saw the recognition in her eyes and his heart swelled with gratitude.

He heard Mac say his name.

"Harm?" Her voice was still muted, an echo in the room, but the love and concern in her eyes, nearly brought him to tears. He had her back. He saw her look around him at Gunny. "Is he okay Gunny? Where was he?"

"He was near the Mall ma'am. I think he's alright, just a bit shook up."

Harm wasn't listening to Gunny; he kept looking at Mac, even when she wasn't looking at him. He was suddenly fascinated with everything about her, her body language, her hands reaching for his arm, her head tilted toward him. It seemed to him that everything she was doing told him she was his. His wife. He reached for her arms and turned her more fully toward him. He cupped her face in both of his hands, anyone else in the room forgotten. "Mac…do you know me? Are you real?"

"Yes, come on we've got a lot to tell you. It's going to be alright." She started to lead him toward the closed double doors of their den, but Harm stopped her, pulling her firmly into his embrace. Her face colored slightly, when she looked at Gunny and nodded toward the den. "Gunny, you can join the others in the den. We'll be in, in just a moment."

He had heard her answer him, and thought to ask her, who else was here, but then he heard the voice of his daughter from the top of the stairs. Harm could not keep from calling out to her. "Zara!"

"Daddy!" There she stood peeking at him over the stair rails, the image of her mother, except for green of her eyes. She was the first living breathing evidence that he had lived and loved Mac and that she had loved him in return.

"Baby, come down here," Tears welled in his eyes and his chin trebled with emotion, he couldn't wait to get his arms around her.

She ran down the stairs and flew into her fathers arms, wrapping her arms around his neck and squeezing tightly. "I'm better Daddy, no more tennchipur"

He kissed her forehead and laughed, with tears flowing down his cheeks, unchecked. "I'm so glad, baby"

"What's the matter Daddy?"

"Nothings the matter, honey. Daddy's just glad to see you."

Harm was suddenly aware that Mac had stepped away from him. "Mac… where are you going?" He never wanted her to leave his sight again. He heard it then, the reason she had left him, it was the familiar sound of a sleepy and cranky toddler. She went quickly to little Jack's room upstairs. As Mac was coming back down, with him, Harm stood looking at them in wonder. It was like seeing them for the first time.

Little Jack pointed in his direction; his little cherub face was in a pout. "My Daddy, want my Daddy….now!"

Harm went quickly to her, pulling both Mac and little Jack, along with Zara, into his arms. The toddler reached for his father, determined to be held, by him. Harms mind and heart were reeling. The most overriding thought that played over and over again in his head, was this. They all knew him and loved him; nothing anyone ever did would change that. Harm kept looking at Mac, unable to believe the recognition that he saw there. She was his again… they all were.

"Honey, are you alright?" Mac worried as she smoothed his hair back, a gesture so comforting that Harm grasped her wrist, to hold her hand in place. He could only nod his answer.

Little Jack was pushing away to get down, suddenly wide awake and raring to go. Zara took him by the hand to help him walk down the stairs with her. "Come on Jack, let's go see Jennifer."

Harm took Mac back into his arms and kissed her passionately, not caring who could see them as the doors of their den swung open wide.

Mac couldn't keep from laughing and blushing profusely, "Harm…honey… wait... I need to tell you…it's going to be alright." She didn't have time to explain, the best way was to allow him to watch as things unfolded, everyone was waiting.

Harm laughed along with her, but didn't stop. He kept kissing her, her cheeks, her eyes and Mac was trying to pull away.

Their door bell rang and Mac did pull out of his arms to answer the door. It was Commander Lindsey and Commander Tracy Manetti .Lindsey and Manetti had been dispatched to the Rabb's at the request of the SecNav.

After Lindsey had informed the SecNav of the Washington Globe article that a 'friend' who had 'connections' told him about, the SecNav told Lindsey he wanted Rabb taken into custody tonight. Sheffield wanted him to handle it personally; Lindsey thought this was going to be one hell of a feather in his cap.

It rankled Lindsey a bit to have to do this on Christmas Eve, but considering the result of this little visit, it would be worth it. Lindsey had wondered why Commander Manetti was to accompany him tonight, but no matter. He just wanted to get it over with and get on with his plans, to get back to JAG and all that he perceived, had been stolen from him.

Mac invited them in and Harm turned, greeting them all, with an almost silly lopsided grin.

He nodded toward Commander Manetti, greeting her and then reaching for Lindsey's hand, shook it and wished him the hardiest Merry Christmas he could muster. He was so glad to be in his own life, that even the existence of Teddy Lindsey couldn't take away the joy of it.

Lindsey gave him a tight lipped smile and thought 'Merry Christmas to you…in Leavenworth'.

Mac began to lead them all into the den and much to Harm's surprise; the room was full of nearly everyone who was important to him. He looked around the room…stunned and truly touched.

The Admiral was here, with the SecNav. Bud and Harriet Roberts stood near them with, Jennifer Coates and Gunny. On the other side of the room, stood his mother and Frank, with another man who looked strangely familiar to him. Then as Harm scanned the rest of the room he looked curiously at some people whom he didn't think would be here.

Loren Singer stood with Deputy Director Kershaw? Then as quickly as worry crept up on him, he dismissed it. He was home, that's all that mattered.

The voice of the SecNav pulled him from his reverie. "Are we all here?"

Commander Lindsey was surprised to see that the SecNav was here, waiting for them. Why had he not told him he would be here as well? Commander Lindsey was beginning to get a really bad feeling that his Christmas was about to take a very unexpected turn.

He turned toward the doors of the den and Gunny closed them. The SecNav began immediately, taking a folded newspaper out of his overcoat pocket.

He opened and turned toward Commander Lindsey, looking at him over his spectacles. "Do you know anything about this?"

Lindsey looked up at Loren Singer, who averted her eyes toward Deputy Director Kershaw. Something was terribly wrong here and Teddy Lindsey knew for a fact that he wasn't going to like it.

"No." He lied.

"Are you sure?" The SecNav walked over to Loren Singer and stood beside her, he looked knowingly at Commander Manetti, who still stood beside Commander Lindsey.

"No sir, I don't know anything about it." He looked quickly at Manetti and stepped away from her. Lindsey would have been very surprised to learn of a conversation that Manetti and Loren Singer had. It had been very enlightening.

Deputy Director Kershaw had heard enough, He walked over to Lindsey and stood in front of him, he took two pictures out of his inner breast pocket of his jacket. "Commander Lindsey, do you recognize anyone in these pictures?"

"How did you….." Commander Lindsey stopped speaking, knowing if he said more, he would land in worse trouble than he was already in.

"It seems Lieutenant Singers 'friend' at State, was actually a good friend of ours, as well as being acquainted with Edward Hardy." Kershaw gave him a smug smile.

Commander Lindsey saw pictures taken the day he had picked up the manila envelope on the Jefferson Bridge, from a person he believed was Edward Hardy. The 'gift' that was too good to be true, really had been.

The SecNav spoke again, "It appears…Teddy…that your ambition, led you right into the middle of a bigger investigation. We were looking for a rogue agent; imagine our surprise when we found that you were assisting him in covering up the murder of another colleague."

"Murder? I don't know anything about that." Lindsey looked at Singer. "Tell them! You know!"

The Admiral, "Lieutenant Singer has told us what she knows, and now thanks to her association with you, she has problems of her own."

Sheffield looked at Manetti, then again at Lindsey. "We've been doing a bit of investigating of our own, in tandem, you might say, with your investigation. It seems you have a credibility problem, Commander, at least when it comes to JAG. To say your view of the conduct of JAG staff is skewed, would be an understatement. You should really stop listening at doors and peeking through keyholes."

Gunny and two other Marines, who up until now, had been waiting outside, stepped up behind Lindsey. "Take him, and his friend." Secretary Sheffield ordered sternly.

Commander Lindsey and Lieutenant Loren Singer were dispatched from the Rabb's home, to the brig in the Washington Navy Yard, forthwith. The Lieutenant's testimony would ensure that she had a much shorter stay than Commander Lindsey, though they would both be civilians upon their release. The sad thing was that Loren, upon her release, would more than likely, be able to pass the bar, in some unsuspecting state and open her own practice on an unsuspecting public.

The SecNav and Commander Manetti followed not far behind, them. "If you'll all excuse us. We have a Christmas Eve service to attend, Commander Manetti's father and I have never missed a Christmas." He smiled at the Commander as they made their way to the door.

Mac was still concerned about the Washington Globe and ZNN. "What about the newspaper reports, and the 24 hour news cycle?"

Bud walked over to their television and turned it on. "Look at this." The ticker on the bottom of announced a new alert. "Former ZNN reporter Chuck DePalma debunks premature reporting of 'spy ring.'"

Harm smiled, thinking that DePalma had come through for them, again.

The Admiral spoke up, "He's promised to give them an interview, to 'clear up' the matter." He smirked, "It's pretty lucky that newspapers are a lot more 'gunshy' than they used to be. If there is even the slightest chance of this being a false report, then the Globe wont touch it with a ten foot pole. There may be a need to follow up on the story, but DePalma will at least keep that edition of the Globe from being published the day after Christmas. We'll leave damage control to the SecNav's office. Lindsey is their problem, not JAG's." Admiral Chegwidden shrugged his shoulders. "Who knows, maybe the SecNav will throw Lindsey to the wolves. The charges against Lindsey alone, should be fodder for a lot of airtime and newspaper print. It would serve him right."

The Admiral shook Harm's hand and said his goodbyes, ending with, "After Mac and I spoke and I talked with the SecNav, and everything just seemed to come together. You had more going for you than you knew, son."

Harm could only nod, grateful for the older man's support, wondering how he could have ever thought of giving up.

As the Roberts' made their way to the door, Bud looked at Harm with a shamefaced expression. "Sir, I'm so sorry for my part in this, I should never have said anything. I don't know what I was thinking."

Harm placed his hand on his shoulder, still so happy to have his old friend back. Harm shook his head and reassured him. "You were only speaking to someone you thought was a friend and colleague. Don't worry Bud."

Harm watched, still holding on to Mac, still not quite believing that his nightmare was over. It was as though he was outside himself, watching this unfold.

His mother and Frank approached him, along with the man Harm was still couldn't quite place.

His mother spoke first. "Darling, it's going to be alright, Mac has contacted nearly everyone you know, and they won't let these lies stand. You have a great many people here…all over the country really, who care about what happens to you." She turned and looked at Frank and he placed an arm around her shoulder and gave it a squeeze.

Frank spoke to Harm, "Do you remember Hugh Blackadder, son?"

Now, he did remember, he had brought him and Mac the money they needed to search for his father while they were in Russia. "Yes sir, I do." He reached for Mr. Blackadder's hand and shook it.

"I've been instructed to tell you that Mr. Lewis will speak with anyone on your behalf, he will testify as to the nature of his communication with your father, in Vietnam and in Russia."

Harm felt his knees nearly give way; this would clear his fathers name and his own. Harm could barely speak for the lump forming in his throat. "Thank you sir, and…please tell Sam that I am in his debt."

"He says to tell you that he is fulfilling a promise that he made to your father, almost 25 years ago. He said you would know what he means."

Harm did remember. In 1980, the then, Viktor Lushov had promised his father that if he ever got to the United States that he would tell his wife and son that he was alive. He did not keep that promise until Harm found him, living as Sam Lewis, in 1998, working for Consolidated Aircraft in California.

Harm pulled Mac more tightly to his side. "I do know…and again, thank you, sir."

Harm's mother kissed his cheek and Harm saw the happiness in her eyes and maybe for the first time was grateful for Frank's steadfast influence on her life, and his own. Their lives continued to be full and happy, just the way his father would have wanted it. They bid each other good night as they all began to file out of the Rabb home. Each coming to Harm and wishing him a Merry Christmas, each time Harm felt grateful for the privilege of having them in his life. All the while Harm held on to the center of his life, his wife Mac, his children, never out of his sight.

As the last guest left, Harm and Mac saw three men coming quickly up the walkway. Harm tensed, fearing this was a beautiful dream and that he would be taken away from them all. As the three men step into the light Harm was startled by who stood before him and blinked, trying to clear his vision.

It was Clayton Webb, and with him his best friend Jack Keeter. Between them stood a young man who looked to be in his early 20's. Lindsey had told him that Webb had been killed in Paraguay; it had pained him to think he would never see his friend again.

"Webb? I thought you were….Lindsey said you were."

"Don't believe everything you hear Rabb. You should know better than that." Webb looked at him with the same sardonic smile that he always seemed to wear. "I've been out of the country for some time, following up on something I think you might be interested to know.

Keeter grinned, not able to stay quiet any longer. "You know I had to hunt him down, after Mac called I figured he owed you a few favors…at least."

"I think this will go a long way toward 'favors owed'." Webb gave Jack a sidelong glance.

Harm was grinning from ear to ear, he was so glad to see them both. He then turned his attention to the young man that had accompanied them. "Who's your friend?"

At that moment the young man stepped forward, looking only at Harm. "I am Sergei Zhukov, and you are Harmon Rabb Jr….. my brother."

Harm felt as though the wind had been knocked out of him, it was really true, what Lieutenant Clarence had said. He had a brother. He extended his hand and clasped Sergei's in a firm grip. "Hello." Harm was overcome. When Harm clasped his brother's hand, he felt an indescribable connection, a connection to his father. A connection he was sure that, though he didn't know Sergei very well yet, would be unbreakable.

Mac's voice was warm and reassuring in this awkward moment. "Please, all of you come in."

As they all made their way back into the den, Mac closed the door, causing the bell inside their Christmas Wreath to jingle. Upon hearing it, Zara, who stood on the steps with her brother watching this unfold, felt she should make an announcement to them all.

"Daddy, did you know that Jennifer says, every time a bell rings, an angel gets its wings."

Harm turned to his children and scooped them both up in his arms. "That's right." He looked up at nothing in particular and said" 'Atta boy, Clarence."

Mac took a very sleepy Little Jack from his arms. "Clarence?"

"Just thinking about a friend of mine, I'll tell you about him sometime." He kissed her cheek, giving her a sly grin.

_**In the heavens above Northern Virginia….**_

Lieutenant Clarence stood looking down at his handiwork; he stood taller and prouder now that he had his wings. It may have taken the better part of one hundred years, but he had done it.

"Congratulations, Lieutenant Clarence." The newly 'winged' angel heard someone speaking.

The lieutenant smiled and turned to see who was congratulating him. It was the man he had seen earlier in this journey. Commander Rabb's father. "Why thank you, sir."

"Great job." The elder Rabb smiled at Lieutenant Clarence and placed his hand on his shoulder.

"Thanks." He turned and began to walk further up into the heavens with him. "Now you won't have to worry about your sons anymore, they're together."

The elder Rabb nodded. "I suppose I can stop worrying, at least until Little Jack starts flight school."

FIN

A/N: I know, I added the little part about Harm Sr. and Clarence but I always thought that in the story, he had to want them to be together. Love that strong doesn't die. I think that the people we love, that go before us, look down on us, and watch over us, somehow. It's probably not the most sophisticated way to think about this, but since this is a Christmas story and AU to boot, I thought I would just go for it. Even if I am a couple of months late. (Smile)


End file.
